Kristin,
I just read this tonight, and I wish everyone I know would read it.  I'm so glad you took the time to put Judy's story into writing and publish it in this context.  I have always felt like my precious wooden baby Jesus became a much more perfect symbol for me after he was chewed and marred like that.  I cried big tears when I first discovered what had happened to him.  I was actually horrified by it. But my horror gradually became a deep ache as I recognized the reality of the reminder of what it meant for God to take on flesh and dwell among us.   
For a very long time in my life I honestly expected that somehow my faith would result in creating the "good life"-- that God would save me from the bad stuff and make everything turn out right.  In more recent years I have come to see that life is more like the book, "Pilgrim's Progress," with many "dangers, toils and snares" and occasional places like small oasis's of refreshment along the way where God's Spirit is so real and beautiful, giving us courage for the journey and awesome hope in every circumstance of life's adventure.