Thursday, December 1, 2011

The Case for Santa

I was shopping for Christmasy stuff yesterday, when I saw three ornaments of children playing in the snow. They reminded me so much of my three children.  I wanted to buy them for my kids.  As if having those ornaments would freeze the growing up process somehow or lengthen it in some way.  They didn't seem as interested in the ornaments as I was, so I decided to pass.


Then I saw this ornament of a little girl peeking out from behind a Santa mask, and my whole heart sighed.  It sort of symbolized my whole approach to Christmas and our traditions surrounding Santa.  I have tried strategically to teach our children who I believe Santa is, what he is about, why he gives, and how we can carry on his tradition of serving others.

Then my mind jumped to a conversation that I had with Guy the night before while we were making gingerbread cookie ornaments for our tree.  He asked me,"Mom what does 'Justin Bieber sucks' mean?  I mean what is 'Justin Bieber sucks?  What is that?'"  The boy that Guy sits next to in Kindergarten has older brothers, and he repeats what he hears from them to Guy.  It was sort of cute that Guy had no idea what a "Justin Bieber" was or what the rest of that slang phrase meant (thank goodness!)  We told him about slang words and that they are not nice, and that we don't repeat them.


This conversation brought the dreaded thought into the back of my mind:  Soon, someone is going to repeat stuff about Santa to Guy that I am not sure I want him to hear yet.  How do I feel about that?

I think the image portrayed by the ornament that I found today was an answer of sorts to speak peace to my Mother heart, because my answer to "How do I feel about that?" is this:  I want to protect the magic.  I want to preserve the wonder and amazement and innocence of childhood dreams.  And when the time is right, I want to be the one to gently pull back the mask to reveal more of the beautiful truth.

I think of this quiet wish of my heart, and I think parents for generations have felt this way, long before I came along.  And I think of our Heavenly Father.  I think of how many things he would like to tell us when we are ready to hear them.  I think of how beautifully he has intertwined truth into the very fiber of our beings and into everything that he has created, so that when we have eyes to see, we will see them.  And that truth will not seem foreign at all, but will feel like the whisperings of our own hearts, spoken aloud at long last.

There is a pattern in all things.  I am thankful for patterns.  

I am thankful that Jesus Christ set the perfect pattern for us to model our lives after.  And I am thankful that "ALL THINGS denote that there is a God..." even a Supreme Creator.  That Supreme Creator is God the Father, who, through his son Jesus Christ, has created the world in which we live, whose birth and life we celebrate this month.


Because I believe that literally all things denote that there is a God, I can learn about God from just about anything....even Santa.  So however you choose to celebrate Christmas with your family this month, I wish you the very merriest of months!   By the way, Santa has already dropped off a letter enlisting my children to help him by taking care of a few people on his good list.  You can read more about our little tradition of being Secret Agents for Santa here.  Happy December, everyone...Let the games begin!

17 comments:

  1. You have GOT to read this... http://www.cozi.com/live-simply/truth-about-santa

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  2. That is a beautiful link! Thanks so much for sharing.

    My mom enlisted me to be on Santa's team the year I was 10 by giving me $20 and the responsibility to fill the stockings. (It could be done with that amount then!)

    I remember my response to my curious son was "You're a smart boy; figure it out, but don't ruin the magic for your younger siblings." It worked. In our family if you don't believe in Santa he doesn't bring you anything, so we all believe :)

    Santa really is real, and he's the epitome of those wondrous Christ-like virtues of joy and peace and love.

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  3. J- WHERE DID YOU FIND THAT ORNAMENT??? I want one! That is Such a GORGEOUS ORNAMENT! Beautifully written also as always. I always enjoy going on your blog and reading your wonderful insights. I love this time of year!

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  4. I love this! I love your transparency. My son is newly 5. When he was one, we had to decide if we were going to "do" Santa as Christians. I had leaned toward not, while my husband thought the idea of not was ludicrous. I had to figure out how we would do Santa while keeping Christmas about Jesus' birth. So four years ago, I did.... and then I've managed to forget all the ways I figured out that this did indeed coincide with Jesus perfectly. In my research to jog my memory on these thoughts, I found your blog. I look forward to adding you to my google reader!

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  5. good thoughts, I always struggled with santa and the real meaning of Christmas because I remember the heart break when I found out from another adult that Santa wasn't real....

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  6. Good thoughts. in our house we do not do santa as we have a few problems with the idea of it...but the man who inspired the whole tradition, he is amazing.

    I love the feeling it has brought into our Christmas celebration to focus entirly on Christ and His gift to us.

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  7. This was a beautiful post. I've been on the fence with "Santa." But the IDEA of why he is who he is, I think that will work to calm my heart on the whole matter.

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  8. The ornament is beautiful! Where can I get one? :)

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  9. The ornament is a Bethany Lowe Design http://www.bethanylowe.com/index.php

    I bought it at a local "Country Cupboard"...I'd imagine any store that carries lost of Christmas stuff would carry Bethany Lowe Design...

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  10. Well, I'm in tears now. ;) This is a great post - thanks for sharing!

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  11. What a great beginning! Growing up is so hard.

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  12. I feel just as you do about Santa, and we are definitely on the same page about divinity today.

    =)

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  13. you know that there are so many simalarities of Santa and Christ. There is a Christmas book that explains it too. Some of the similarities are Christ will wear Red when he comes again. He will come as a thief in the night are the ones I remember the most. There are more. I will find the book and let you know. It's for Children. There are other gospel symbolism for Christmas. The tree- the tree of life. THe balls-the fruit, Even the 12 days of christmas song has religious meaning and so does the candy cane.

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  14. I love this post. You put into words my very thoughts. I was just pondering on Santa and the magic of childhood the other day when my 3 year old announced Santa isn't real. I know it is ridiculous but I was saddened. I wanted him to experience the magic and wonder that I had. What I always loved about the tradition of Santa was the possibility. This possibility added a sense of wonder and magic to my Christmases. I unlike others wasn't heartbroken when I learned for myself that there was no real Santa because for me he was alive in so many of the wonderful traditions of giving and cheer during the holidays. And like I told my 3 year old in that sense he is very real :)

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  15. The story of St. Nicholas is a true story. Not what we have learned on tv. I have tought my children this story.

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