This is a picture of my
grandmother posing as Mrs. Claus and she is waking up Santa Claus.
My grandmother was a columnist for our local
newspaper and the gentleman who posed as Santa Claus was also a reporter and they posed for this picture for the newspaper.
The gentleman who played Santa also dressed up for the families of his
colleagues and visited their homes with gifts for their children and
grandchildren.
Mr. Giles paid a few
visits to our home with gifts for my sister and I that were purchased by my parents.
I have wonderful memories of these times – of
my grandmother who loved us deeply and of happy times at Christmas with our
family.
When that bubble was shattered –
that Santa wasn’t real and it was only Mr. Giles in a suit who visited our house
– I was devastated. When my Dad told me,
I went into the basement on my own and cried my eyes out! That part of my world was shattered and the
innocence of my childhood was over. A
new reality began for me.
As the world around us flocks to
the mall and to online stores to buy that perfect gift to put under the tree,
Christmas is a time for us to remember that Santa is not our reality. Jesus is.
Jesus – who came to us as the Word made flesh – was a born as a helpless
child to young, inexperienced parents.
He was born in a barn not a palace.
And yet, he is our king.
The prophet Isaiah tells us
about who are our king is – that Jesus, the Messiah, has the spirit
of the Lord, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and
might, and the spirit of knowledge. (Isaiah 11:2) And
he will bring about justice, righteousness, and peace for those who fear the
Lord. He is the wonderful counselor,
mighty God, and everlasting Father. (Isaiah
9:6)
Isaiah also points us towards
the Prince of Peace. He tells us one day
– and what a glorious day it will be! - that the wolf shall live
with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion
and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. (Isaiah 11:6) Our world is a very broken
place that is full of violence and war.
Despair is everywhere. But there
is hope. And that hope comes from Jesus,
the Prince of Peace.
We need to remember
that we worship the Prince of Peace, not just at Christmas time, but each and
every day. We have so much to be
thankful for because the gifts that we have been given through God the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, they will never fade or break. They are more precious than gold or
silver. These gifts include grace, peace,
and hope. We have been given
salvation. And eternal life. All of these gifts cannot be compared to
anything that the world has to offer.
This isn’t something that is easy for a disappointed little girl to
understand when she learns that Santa isn’t real, but I certainly understand it
now. Our reality is that God loves us so
much that he freely gave all of these gifts – and so much more – to you and
me.
It is my prayer that you may
experience the grace, peace, and hope that only the Christ child brings.
Blessings, Emma.
For
I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last, he will stand upon
the earth.
Job
19:25
