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 frontrow-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.

May each of you have a Merry Christmas as you reflect
on
His Amazing Love for us...