I Feel Chosen and Special

A dumb animal they call me.
They mock and use my name as a curse.
But I was the one grazing in the field that day when Joseph came.
He traded a carpentry tool for me and we began our long journey.
They were very kind to me on that trip to Bethlehem.
I didn't realize who the child in Mary's womb was.
But I felt chosen and so very special.

Three walls and a simple roof were all I had to offer.
No heat, no light, not even a door to protect them from the cold
But they seemed to be glad to find me and to rest here.
And I felt chosen and so very special.

All I really am is a container for food.
My name means "to eat".
Cows, horses, lambs - their mouths push into my center while they eat.
I wasn't clean. And I'm not very sturdy.
I had never carried so precious a bundle!
People were calling the baby boy an Infant King.
And I was his first throne: a manger.
I felt chosen and so very special.

None of them felt as unworthy as I.
I am the hay -course, cold and damp.
I am only good for animals to eat.
I was not the soft pillow or bed that a baby should have.
This infant has a rough beginning.
I wish I was softer, more supple and I smelled sweeter.
But I was the closest to his skin.
I felt chosen and so very special

He could have chosen a smarter, more faithful person.
He could have chosen a wiser, calmer, more loving soul than mine.
But I am the one he calls the apple of his eye.
I am the one he holds in the palm of his hand.
I am the reason that his last throne was a crucifix.
I feel chosen and so very special.