We used to make fun of my older cousin Kim and her husband Mike. They have three beautiful children and neither of them know or have ever known Santa Claus to be real. What? Where is the fun in that? Lately I've been thinking that maybe Kim and Mike were right.
I remember when my wife Monica and I had a our first child, Hailey. We were comfortably juggling the whole secular Santa Claus deal with the celebration of the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We were smugly confident that our parenting during the advent season was far superior to that of my older cousin and her husband. Now that our children are older (10, 8 and 5), I am struggling with the pressure of the secular Santa Claus and what I know to be the real reason for the season, the day God came to us in human form - the Word made flesh, dwelling among us (John 1:14). We're in church every Sunday throughout the year and I wonder if my children have truly grasped the meaning of Christmas.
Christmas Past
One Christmas when Hailey and Kaelyn were younger and before Abigail's birth, God blessed us with more than enough financial means for what our family needed. We promptly took that blessing and spent it on our kids for Christmas. Monica and were careful to ensure that each child received the same amount of gifts (9 each plus overflowing stockings) so that it would be "fair." We were so excited on Christmas eve with the anticipation of the joy that would come on Christmas morning for our two darlings when they would realize the truly amazing splendor that Santa had left for them the night before.
On Christmas mornings I'm usually delegated the role of picture-taker. This morning between pictures I carefully studied Hailey and Kaelyn's behavior as they dived into the Christmas cornucopia. It began with both of them carefully unwrapping the first of the gifts they selected. I don't remember what they opened, but each one expressed how excited they were to receive those gifts. It was exactly what they wanted and they could not believe how Santa knew exactly what to bring. Then they moved on to their second gifts, opening them with excitement and a little faster than they unwrapped the first. Again they expressed their gratitude for gift number two just like number one. They moved on to number three as if they suddenly realized that there was a lot of gifts to open and lots of joy to be had. They tore into these gifts with extreme vigor and while they expressed thanks for gift number three, you could see that they were more excited with the anticipation of what might be in gift numbers 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.
Total chaos ensued. Hailey and Kaelyn ripped through the rest of their Christmas packages with an unquenchable thirst for realizing the splendor for all that would be theirs, and at the same time they lost appreciation for all they received. When there were no more gifts left to open, somehow they were disappointed that there were no more gifts left to open. I remember thinking, "what have we done to our children."
Christmas Present
Times are a little tougher now financially than they were during the Christmas of selfish splendor. Monica and I both are making less money than we used to and the Christmas lists of our children are more demanding on our bank account. I don't know if we'll be able to afford the one thing that each of our daughters want the most on their respective lists. We haven't bought the first thing for any of them yet. I suppose we are avoiding the inevitable. What if there was nothing to open on Christmas morning from Santa? Would they still believe in the true meaning of Christmas despite the societal pressure of disappointment in not receiving something from Santa? It's ironic that Christ came to save us from the world that we have created and somehow we find ways to keep perpetuating worldly desires instead of seeking God's perfect will for our lives. As Christmas day approaches, I find myself dreading this reality. This mess I've created for my kids has brought them closer to the world and further away from God.
Christmas Future
God, I pray that you will save my kids from the mess I have created. The only good things in this life come from you and I ask that you forgive me for confusing my children's hearts with desires that are not from you. I pray that your goodness will shine through in their hearts now and forever more so that they may know true joy and happiness that comes with the fullness of knowing that you loved us so much that you sent your son into our world to dwell among us and pay the ultimate price with his life so that we may be reconciled back to you despite our failure into sin. I pray that your truth will be so evident this Christmas season that they will be truly blessed so they may also be a blessing to others.
Is it possible that Mike and Kim had it right all along? I certainly have not poked fun at the way they have raised their children to believe in the true reason for the Christmas season, forsaking the tradition of Santa Claus.
One week left until Christmas. Lord please see me through it.
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