Greetings to all the Who’s down in Whoville…
Greetings to all the Who’s down in Whoville…
I hope that this season finds you full of joy…
I took Charlie to the mall tonight to sit on Santa’s lap. Same mall, each year. Same Santa. Same lap.
(fair warning: if you are of the anti-Santa parenting philosophy, which I respect but am not a member of,…you might want to stop reading at this point and just skip down to the part where I wish your family a very merry Christmas…which I genuinely do)
For the rest of you…The Santa at our mall looks sooooo real that it literally makes me tear up when I see him. Apparently he’s been the Santa at this mall for like 18 years….and in his real life he is a psychology professor at UT Austin. I can’t even imagine being a student in his class. It must be a challenge to have a PhD and to rightly anticipate the respect that comes with that level of higher education, and then have to reconcile the fact that when people see you, they mostly imagine how many elves you employ and where you park your sleigh. I’m sure he gets his fair share of milk and cookies around exam time.
Charlie had been rehearsing his Santa encounter for about a week. He wanted to make sure that Santa didn’t feel unloved, so he planned on asking about Rudolph and “the wife.” I mentioned that she actually did have a name other than “the wife.” And he quickly pointed out that “Mrs” isn’t exactly a real name. Point taken. He also wanted to make sure that Santa knew that he had been really good boy this year except for the times when he had cried a little bit. This prompted a good discussion about the importance of crying…that it is not a “naughty” thing at all and actually can be a pretty great way of expressing sadness. He seemed relieved about that. After he covered those topics, he felt free to finally get to the point….what he hopes to find under the tree.
Namely…a scooter.
After standing in line with many other weary parents and over-stimulated toddlers, it was finally our turn. Santa called Charlie by name (courtesy of a sneaky fill-out-a-form system for Moms and Dads) and Charlie climbed up on that magical lap with equal parts trembling and joy. I couldn’t quite hear their conversation….I was trying to keep a respectful distance so that the hovering adult voice of correction and manners wouldn’t have a chance to blurt out something lame and break the spell. All time stood still for me. The clatter and racket of all the other families in line seemed diminished. My little boy was face to beard with one of the world’s most charmed and thrilling souls: Santa Claus…and for just a second in a crowded mall…I believed again.
Eventually…painfully… the spell broke.
“But….there’s no scooter here.”
I scooped him up and reminded him that Santa still had work to do back at the North Pole. The scooter was still in the factory. The elves were painting it. The sleigh was waiting to carry it. The reindeer were running laps…getting ready. Rudolph was polishing his nose…and on and on...(all the while the scooter sits in our garage needing only a bow).
We talked about the difference between wanting something right away and having to really wait until you were ready to receive it.
As I tried to explain this to my 3 year old….I realized how similarly I approach my prayer life. I crawl up in the lap of God….tell him how good I’ve been…and feebly mention my wish list. I enjoy that moment…sure that He has heard me…and as I walk away, I am flabbergasted at the notion that He did not stuff my heart’s desire into the goody bag I’m holding. Because he is preparing something else…something better…something not yet.
Please hear me. I’m not saying that God is some sort of Divine Santa Claus. He doesn’t punish the naughty and reward the nice. I assure you that my understanding of Christmas magic, in the form of jolly ole St. Nick is not confused with the sovereign plan of the Creator of the universe. But my moment at the mall tonight did remind me that we are all waiting for… more.
This Christmas, we honor and celebrate Jesus as Immanuel….meaning “God with us.” A baby in a barn, holding the keys of love that will unlock and free a hateful, hopeless world. What could be better news?? God is with us! And yet…as we live life, we wait. We crawl up in the lap of the Father and say, “Now? Is this it?” And God says...Yes…a little….but not yet. Not really yet.
I have work to do.
From my family to yours… Have a beautiful Christmas season.
With love,
There really is a lot to be joyful about…(not that the evening news would convince you of this, or the parking lot at the mall, for that matter), but we do have so many reasons to be joyful this time of year.
Santa’s lap had to accommodate the next sweet soul. But as Charlie hopped off, Santa handed him a small plastic bag, like the one the dentist gives you with the complimentary toothbrush until your next visit. But because it came from Santa, Charlie clutched it like it held gold…refusing to peek inside until we were well out of Santa’s sight. Finally, no longer able to exercise restraint…he opened the small plastic bag and after he thumbed through the coloring book, crayons and free “mall coupons” inside, looked up at me in disbelief.
Then came the quivering lip. And the chin. And finally the alligator tears.
I am preparing a place.
Trust Me. Believe in the promise of what’s to come.
You may or may not choose to celebrate the tradition of reindeer and chimneys and stockings…but this Christmas, you can count on the fact that God is, indeed, with us. And that His gift of His Son comes on time. Every time.
We pray you feel rich in spirit and believe that God will deliver every good gift in His timing.
Nichole
