Each December, =
I vow to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience. I had cut back =
on nonessential obligations – extensive card writing, endless baking, =
decorating, and even overspending. Yet still, I found myself exhausted, =
unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and of course, the =
true meaning of Christmas.
My son, =
Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting season for a =
six-year-old. For weeks, he’d been memorizing songs for his school’s =
"Winter Pageant."
I didn’t have =
the heart to tell him I’d be 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 rehearsal the morning of the presentation. =
All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come =
then. It would be a time when all the students could watch the =
entire program from the audience’s view, so it would be a special =
time.
So, the =
morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed 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 seats. As I waited, the =
students were led into the room. Each class, accompanied 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 long stopped referring to the holiday as =
"Christmas," I didn’t expect anything other than fun, =
commercial entertainment songs of reindeer, Santa 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.
Nicholas was =
aglow, as were all 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 child 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 message, =
"CHRISTMAS LOVE."
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 to us as a =
"W".
The audience =
of 1st through 6th graders snickered 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 last letter was raised, and =
we all saw it together.
A hush came =
over the audience and eyes began to widen. In that instant, we =
understood the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday in =
the first place, why even in the 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 L O V E"
~~
Dr Bob Griffin =
[email protected] =
www.grif.net
"Jesus =
Knows Me, This I Love!"