Thursday, December 23, 2010

The W in Christmas

My mom (via my grandma) forwarded me this story in an email...
I must share it. I can identify with this woman at the beginning of the story.

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:
 "C H R I S T  W A S  L O V E"

 And, I believe, He still is.
 Amazed in His presence... .humbled by His love.

1 comment:

  1. Love this story!
    Wishing you a wonderful Christmas Jordanna...where yes! Christ WAS and IS love!!!
    Merry Christmas!!

    ReplyDelete