One of the many characters in the French nativity santon,
hand painted over a hundred years ago.
Carries two baskets from the market filled with cabbage.
Some brought incenses,
some brought gold,
some came by with their lambs and drums;
The French santons, the many characters of the village come to the Provencal nativity, 'it takes a village" comes to mind when I see them set up.
I collect the old shabby looking ones, but the characters never change, I love this one who brings cabbages, like why not? The Provencal nativity scene
symbolically says to me, "Give what you have, come as you are, we can create a loving world if we bring our gift and share."
The santons make me feel like everything has a place and a purpose.
My brother Marty told me a story of a Man who was in Paradise the day of the fire, his volunteered service was to look in on the elderly, that day his boss called him and asked if he was going to Paradise, and the Man replied that he was just entering the town as they spoke. His boss said, "Come Home! It is too dangerous they are closing the roads." So the Man started to turn his car around to head home. But then he thought of a Shut-In that he usually visited and he knew he would not be able to escape if the fire should come to his house. So instead of turning around, he went to the Shut-Ins house. When he arrived the fire was close and the Man was scared thinking they were both going to die! He ran into the house and the Shut-In was sitting in his chair with a sleeping bag. The Man asked the Shut-In what he was doing with a sleeping bag, and the Shut-In replied, "I figured once the fire came in I would just zip myself up in the sleeping bag so I wouldn't see it." The Man picked him up and carried him to his car. On the terrifying ride home, the Man thought to himself how stupid he was because there was no way out of the burning furnace ahead of them, he thought I could have been safe and now it looks like I am going to die. On the way down the horrific firey road, he picked up other people whose cars had burned or who had run out of gas, when at last they made it out he thought, "This is why I was born. I was made to do this. Simple me, I am a hero."
I hope I would have the courage to do the same.
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