It’s time to sit down with a cup of hot chocolate and watch the Christmas lights twinkle on the tree…
I took my 2 year-old daughter outside this evening so we could walk down the street and look at all of the Christmas lights on all of the houses. There’s one house in particular that always goes all-out for every holiday, Christmas not being an exception.
She pointed at a big blow-up doll of Santa Claus and yelled “Santa, daddy! Santa!” She got so excited she started jumping up and down. I squatted down to her level, and as she was looking in awe at the giant, oversized Santa doll, I told her that if she had been a good girl throughout the year (which I told her she had been), that Santa would bring her lots of presents on Christmas. She started jumping up and down again. “Presents! Presents! Presents!”
Then something occurred to me that should have occurred to me already: This season isn’t about Santa, presents, or the hecktic holiday buzz. It’s about Jesus, and not in the “Yeah, I go to church on Easter and Christmas” way.
The only chance any of us have in going to Heaven is through Him. And Christmas is a celebration of the day He was born. Sure, getting presents is fun and all, but there really is a more important reason for the holiday.
I looked back down at my daughter, and said “Do you know what Christmas is all about?” She looked at me blankly. She can’t even say Christmas yet, much less does she know what it means. “It’s to celebrate baby Jesus!” I said. “Baby?” she replied.
I got up and took her little hand. She looked up at Santa again and said “Bye bye, Santa!” We walked back into the house, and into the living room where our Christmas tree is. “Presents!” She screamed. I just hope that I can teach her what the season is all about, and have her remember it in the morning.
*sigh*
Merry Christmas all!
