|
Emerson Publications
|
|
|
You have permission to publish this article in its entirety as long as the
bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.
Please inform writer of your use.
mailto:joyce@emersonpublications.com Keeping Christ in Christmas I realize that not everyone reading this is a Christian, but even if you are, you know that it's sometimes difficult to keep the focus on Him even at this Christmas time of year. There is so much focus on gift giving. Television and print ads bombard us, and our children, with things to buy. We think that in order to be good parents, we have to provide everything our children want. After all, we don't want any disappointed kids on Christmas morning. This year, while unpacking my decorations, one of the first things to catch my eye was an unfamiliar styrofoam box. I had no idea what was inside, but as I proceeded to open it, discovered it was a nativity scene. I remembered, faintly, buying it at Hallmark after Christmas last year. It had never even been out of the box. It looked like it was carved out of wood, although it's possible that it's all molded polymer! I placed it on my bookcase and took a few moments to admire the beauty of it. Next, I unwrapped a pottery candle holder that has a primitive nativity scene carved out of it. My daughter bought me that one. I also found the wooden nativity scene painted by my friend, Janna. Before I was through, I had about 6 variations of the nativity scene before me. There was even the Fisher Price nativity scene I'd bought last year. I put it under the tree for the grandkids to play with. It seemed that we would all have a nativity scene to remind us that Christ is the reason for the season. At that point, I decided to leave everything else in the tubs. This year, I was leaving Santa and Frosty in the tub. I wanted to just surround myself with nativities. Just looking at all of them warmed my heart. It just felt right. Later that week, I went to visit my friend, Colleen. As I looked around her house, I saw a nativity on the piano, and another one on the coffee table. She had beautiful glass ornaments on her tree, but that was it. I commented on how nice and orderly everything looked. She said she was tired of the clutter and decided to just use her nativities. It made me smile and I told her I'd done the same thing. There is a lot of symbolism in the stories of Santa and Frosty, and they are certainly good role models for our kids. For example, Santa is a wonderful, bearded gentleman loved by young and old alike. He rewards the good children and all of them at this time of year are worried about whether or not they've been naughty or nice. They want to make sure they've made the list! As parents, we do all we can to keep Santa alive for as long as we can because we enjoy the wonder in our children's faces when they believe. It's a sad day for all when you stop believing. Frosty, as the song says, is a jolly, happy soul who loved the children enough to risk melting just to be with them. His last words to them were "I'll be back again some day." There's certainly nothing wrong with Santa and Frosty, and I love them as much as the next person does. I don't ever want to outgrow my love for Santa or Frosty, and nothing delights me more than singing the Christmas songs with my grandkids. But when we are sending emails to keep God on our coins, and desperately wanting presidential candidates who believe in God, then why not turn our focus to Him and the greatest gift He had to offer? His Son. For me, displaying my nativities keeps me focused on the birth of the Christ child. Like Santa, our Heavenly Father rewards those who are good, and those who believe in Him will have joy. Like Frosty, He loved the children - young and old, AND we have God's promise that Christ will be back again some day. When you look at Santa and Frosty as reminders of what we believe as Christians, you get a totally different picture. So celebrate this most wonderful time of the year and shout Merry Christmas to those you meet and greet. It IS a holiday, but let's not forget whose birthday it is! Copyright 2007 by Joyce Moseley Pierce. Visit
www.emersonpublications.com to read more of Joyce's stories, to subscribe to the
Family First newsletter, to learn how to protect your family in your absence, or
discover ways to make money at home. This site is dedicated to helping others
create family unity in many different ways. |
Send mail to
joyce@emersonpublications.com with
questions or comments about this web site.
|