Still Excited?

Last night as we were preparing for the Holy Walk, I asked, "After all of these years, is it still okay to be extremely excited for the Holy Walk?"

This year marked the 30th year of the Holy Walk in my home town, Bremen.

The Holy Walk and I were born the same year.

In fact, the first Holy Walk was at my parent's house.

I kind of grew up with it.

This year, though, was different. On Friday evening, Jenn and I packed the car after work and made the trek to Bremen so that we could could go through the Holy Walk before serving as angels on Saturday night. I have longed to go through the Holy Walk for the last several years but never had the chance due to serving as an angel or working with our youth group at the produce tent.

We arrived in Bremen and headed to the school. Last year Jenn and my sister-in-law snuck into a group at the start of the journey. However, this year, I asked if we could start at the school to gain the full experience.

Jenn obliged and we waited for about an hour and a half before catching a ride on a big yellow limousine to Bethlehem. The time, though, went by fast because we talked with a friend from Horizon and enjoyed watching the other people in the gym.

After the bus dropped us off at the site, we met our guide, James, from Caesarea. We were part of a family of 21 members on our way to Bethlehem to pay our taxes. On the hill outside of Bethlehem, we met a couple, Mary and Joseph. Mary was well along in her pregnancy. They were tired and cold.

As we left the couple, we were enshrouded by the darkness of night.

Soon, though, we came across some shepherds watching their sheep and were startled by angels proclaiming great news of a Savior to be born in Bethlehem.

We hurried on our way.

The innkeeper turned away our cold and weary family.

The Roman soldiers harassed us. I got in trouble for smiling too much.

We unsuccessfully tried to barter for rations and bedding in the village.

We paid our taxes.

Then, about 45 minutes into our journey, we found ourselves approaching the light of a lowly stable situated in the darkness of the night. The calmness of the stable contrasted significantly with the craziness of our journey. Even the wild 4th and 5th grade students that were in our family were completely quiet and still.

Some people were with the animals:

Joseph,

Mary,

and a little baby,

Jesus.

The story has been the same for the last 3o years.

The story has been the same for the last 2000 years.

Yes, it is still a pretty exciting story!