Did you hear?

Now that Thanksgiving is over and Christmas is just around the corner, I wanted to share with you my 2007 Christmas card.

It is a precious little donkey peeking out over the stall door. The original pastel is sitting on my fireplace hearth with an arrangement of things making a nice little vignette. As soon as I get the film developed (yes I still use film) I’ll post a picture of it.

I’ve decided for now I couldn’t put the original up for sale – at least not yet. Drawing the donkey was so much fun and I smiled the entire time I was doing it – there was just something about that face and the message it has behind it! When I chose the reference picture I knew immediately it would be my Christmas card. I knew I wanted it to be something special and exactly what it would say.

I imagined this little donkey being in the very place where Joseph and Mary stopped for the night seeking a place to rest. Can you imagine the awesome stillness in that barn that night when Christ was born? I don’t know if you have ever walked through a barn at night when the animals are eating or when they have settled down for the night, but there is something so very peaceful about it.

I believe that night the barn must have been extra quite as the animals instinctually knew something special was about to happen. I believe that any human or animal present must have felt the Holy Spirit in that very place. What joy that must have been! Then I just imagined this little donkey being so excited to tell someone of the great news of actually seeing Christ born and sleeping right there in his manger, where he and the other animals ate their hay. So here he is peeking out of the window saying to anyone who will listen, “Did you hear? A Child was born!”

Wanting to share this with others, I made 5x7 prints of the original pastel, put photo corners on it and mounted it to nice sage green card stock. At the bottom it reads “Did you hear? A Child was born!” On the back of the card I typed out the Christmas story from the Bible.

Having made up a stack of these cards, I sent them out to family, friends, co-workers and clients. This card has had a wonderful effect on people that I believe is two-fold. I think that little donkey itself is just too irresistible and you can’t help but smile. Also, it’s a reminder of why we celebrate Christmas and the two together just touch people – then the bonus is, I get such a blessing from everyone’s reaction! How cool is that?

So if it makes you smile, that is great but if he also reminds you of the real reason we celebrate Christmas that is even better! That is my hope and prayer anyway.


Did you hear?
A Child was born!