Each December, I vowed 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, I still 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 had worked to memorize songs for his school’s “Winter Pageant.” I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I was scheduled to work the night of the production. Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher. She assured me there would be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation. All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then. Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise.
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 of his classmates, They were adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters, and bright snowcaps upon their heads. Those in the front row – center stage – had the responsibility to hold 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 all noticed a small, quiet, girl in the front row holding the letter “M” upside down – totally unaware that her letter “M” appeared 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:
“CHRISTWAS LOVE”
He still is!! God works in mysterious ways!!
- Author Unknown
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God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 1 John 4:9-10 NLT
…God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 NASB
…keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Jude 1:21 NIV
We love each other because He loved us first. 1 John 4:19 NLT
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