A Christmas Story of Maddy's Rag Doll
Posted: Monday, December 12, 2011
by Marcia Balthazar
ForTheLoveOfJesusChrist
This Christmas, I decided to make a "rag doll" for my granddaughter, Madison, whom I nicknamed "Maddy". The reason I decided to make this doll, is that when I was a little girl, for Christmas I always got a bald headed plastic doll, which I made clothes for. As I reflected on the joy of taking little pieces of scraps from my mother's sewing basket, and excitedly hand sewing clothes for my doll, I became more and more reflective of the times then and now. I began to see more clearly the self absorption of humanity in even the little children. Many children in this country receive so many "toys" on Christmas day that they become befuddled as to which one they should play with. Their imaginations may only reach as far as how to follow the manufacturer's instructions of that particular toy.
Hence, the reason for making this doll. As I cut out the pattern for this doll from some material I had left over, I became more and more excited. I began to "visualize" what this doll would look like and how I would dress it. I wanted to make it as big as a real baby that someone could dress. I dressed the doll in my granddaughter's baby pampers and bib and then went to the department stores where I found baby clothes, socks and even gloves. I even got glasses from one store. Now, here is my dilemma. When I finished sewing this doll together, I did not know what I would do for hair, so I began to look around for something that would look like hair, and I found this hat that Maddy's dad had left at my house, which had red hair attached to it. I excitedly sewed the red hair unto the doll, and anticipated what Maddy would say when she saw her doll and recognized the hair from the hat, her pampers and bib. I thought about Maddy going to "shop" for her doll and dress it in clothes. I even though of making new clothes for her doll when she came over for a visit. I soon found out on Christmas day, how Maddy felt about her doll, when she took one look at her doll and turned aside to her other presents. Well, yesterday, Maddy told me she did not like her doll because it "scared her". I asked her why, and she could not answer me, except to say it had a "belly button". LOL! Well, I cannot force Maddy to love her doll, or see what I "see".
That remark from Maddy got me to thinking that perhaps the doll would "scare" other little kids also, but when I looked at this doll, all I could "see" is the love I made it with. Then, I got to thinking about God and how He looks at His creation, with "pure love", which "sees" way beyond our human imperfections, to His desired result. We may not like what we "believe" we see on or in ourselves and others, because we do not look at ourselves or others with "pure love" and see what our Creator see in us and others.
I thought of the prophecy of Jesus Christ, in the book of Isaiah chapter 53, where our Messiah "Jesus Christ" is described as having no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him, then I meditate on the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke in the New Testament, where Jesus is so beaten that another man "Simon" had to carry His cross. I believe that His face was so beaten, that blood and flesh just hung from it and He could not "see" in the physical where He was walking, but in the "spiritual", He knew that He would have to do this for the "pure love" of His people, but when the people saw him, they turned away from Him because He must have looked horrible to their "human eyes". Perhaps that is why He said to buy "eye salve" so that we can "see". hmmm.....
God does not live in time, but He created seasons for us to live in. My sincere prayer is this season, we who are called by Christ, begin to truly look at God's creation and "see" with "pure spiritual eyes of love", what God "sees" in ourselves and others, and act accordingly, in thinking, speaking and doing for others as we would have others do unto us, which is the second greatest command Jesus left for us to follow.
Thank you Maddy for inspiring me to "see" through the "eyes" of Jesus Christ.
With sincere love to all
Marcia Balthazar 1/1/09
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