Christmas Mistake
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 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.
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,
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 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"
And He still is.
- Author Unknown
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