Christmas Love
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 10 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.
by Candy Chand PATCAN85@aol.com
Bio: Candy Chand is a wife and the mother of two, young children. Her inspirational book, Under God’s Wings, about every day Christian miracles, is available at bookstores nationwide and on Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1580624286/o/qid=980706562/sr=8-1/ref=aps_sr_b_1_1/104-7979863-7718307