Our little bit of calm in the holiday rush - the nature table

It seems everywhere I look, people are in a hurry during this holiday season, myself occasionally included. To say the rhythm of our days has been disrupted is an understatement as I work more hours and we are about to plunge deep into gift wrapping and card mailing. I have managed to keep it simple and true in one small, but very special place in our home, our nature table.

I have several things we could have put on it, but as the children and I decorated it, it was obvious that more would be, well, just more. So here we have it; a blue playsilk we dyed this past summer, 2 pinecones from out west, a wood bowl with shiny prized rocks that the 2-year old often places around baby Jesus, a watercolor of the magi bringing baby Jesus gifts, and a terra cotta creche. The creche is for the children to touch, hold and play with, giving us the opportunity to talk about the baby Jesus. Our nature table stands as a simple, quiet reminder of what Christmas is truly all about: The Devine.