This is marvelous........ 
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 over spending. 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, snow flakes
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 snow caps
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, I believe, He still is.
A dear friend and former classmate of Pastor Ron Cairns
Saskatchewan,Canada.
