[True st=
ory shared a number of years ago on social media]
Each December, I v=
ow to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience. I had cut back on none=
ssential obligations – extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating, =
and even overspending. Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appre=
ciate the precious family moments, and of course, the true meaning of Chris=
tmas.
My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting s=
eason for a six year old. For weeks, he’d been memorizing songs for his sch=
ool’s "Winter Pageant."
&n=
bsp;
I didn’t have the heart to tell him I’d b=
e working the night of the production. Unwilling to miss his shining moment=
, I spoke with his teacher. She assured me there’d be a dress rehears=
al the morning of the presentation. All parents unable to attend that eveni=
ng were welcome to come then.
=
=
So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I fil=
ed in ten minutes early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down. =
Around the room, I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their se=
ats. As I waited, the students were led into the room. Each class, accompan=
ied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one =
by one, rose to perform their song.
=
Because the public school system had lo=
ng stopped referring to the holiday as "Christmas," I didn’t expe=
ct anything other than fun, commercial entertainment songs of reindeer, San=
ta Claus, snowflakes and good cheer. So, when my son’s class rose to sing, =
"Christmas Love," I was slightly taken aback by its bold title.
N=
icholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens,=
red sweaters, and bright snowcaps upon their heads. Those in the front row=
– center stage – held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title =
of the song.
=
As the class would sing "C is for Christmas," a chil=
d would hold up the letter C. Then, "H is for Happy," and on and =
on, until each child holding up his portion had presented the complete mess=
age, "Christmas Love."
&nb=
sp;
The performance was going smoothly, until =
suddenly, we noticed her; a small, quiet, girl in the front row holding the=
letter "M" upside down – totally unaware her letter "M"=
; appeared as a "W".
 =
;
The audience of 1st through 6th graders snic=
kered at this little one’s mistake. But she had no idea they were laughing =
at her, so she stood tall, proudly holding her "W". Although many=
teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the las=
t letter was raised, and we all saw it together.
A hush came over the audie=
nce and eyes began to widen. In that instant, we understood the reason we w=
ere there, why we celebrated the holiday in the first place, why even in th=
e chaos, there was a purpose for our festivities.
For when the last letter =
was held high, the message read loud and clear:
"C H R I S T W A S&nbs=
p; L O V E"
~=
~
Dr Bob Griffin
[email protected] www.grif.net
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for th=
e Word,
to declare the mystery of Christ.” (Col. 4:2-3)=