-------------------------------------------------
W
==
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:
"CHRIST WAS LOVE"
And, I believe, He still is.
~Author Unknown~
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