What I Want For Christmas
/I remember the night well. I was in the third grade and our family had gone to Montgomery for a night of “window shopping.” Window shopping was a ploy during which people walked the sidewalks in front of all the big stores and looked at all the potential gifts displayed in the window to assess other’s attraction to the various toys, etc. on display. And there was a surprisingly good correlation between the emotions one displayed for the various gifts and what ended up under the Christmas tree from Santa.
I had always loved window shopping but, on this night, I just could not get excited about anything. Just that week, a wiser classmate than I had told me the “truth” about Santa Claus. He told me that my parents had to pay Santa for everything he left at our house. Well, that was a bummer. My Mom and Dad were great people and fun to be around, but we did not have a lot of extra money and the way we got extra money was for one or both to work overtime. That meant less family time together. I had calculated in my eight-year-old mind the way to keep that from happening was not want anything for Christmas. So, I acted as if nothing in any of the windows was of any interest to me at all.
It did not take my mother long to realize something was wrong and, as only she could do with a couple of questions, she unveiled the truth. I broke down crying and blubbered out, “Ole ______ had told me about Santa.” After Mother recovered from her anger with _______ (who she never forgave) for having broken my innocence, she sat down on a bench with me and explained Christmas Clubs and savings that enabled extra spending at Christmas and we would not miss out on any of the “good times” because we would all be together. It was amazing how quickly that assurance enabled my attention to return to the many attractions in the windows.
Now, as I process that experience almost sixty-five years later, I realize how very precious presence is when compared to presents. A truth in our lives is all the presents in the world can not make up for the presence of those we love and there is no better time to celebrate this than during the Christmas season. So, I encourage you to find a way this Christmas season to be truly present with those you love. I know there is a pandemic going on and I think it could really be used in a wonderful way to give some quality presence to those you may wish to see and cannot. Here are a few thoughts:
For those from whom you are not distancing, invite them into your presence and give them the gift of undivided attention for thirty minutes. Make their interest and concerns the center of your world. Encourage them and assure them of the importance of their role in your life and tell them you love them.
For those you can not see in person, schedule some FaceTime or Zoom and follow the routine in number one above. I have been amazed how effective gatherings can be when you are present in these formats with others.
Send cards and flowers with personal notes.
Carve out some time to be truly present with Jesus. After all, Jesus is the reason we “live and move and have our being.” “Without Jesus, the Word of God, not one thing came into being.”
….. Do whatever other things you hear God tell you to do…. If you are present, God will speak….
Do not ever forget, we live “in the Communion of the Saints.” I plan to spend a little time there in their presence (those past and present) and encourage you to do so too. To paraphrase Paul, “No pandemic nor anything else in all creation, can separate our hearts from those we love.” May we make this the best Christmas ever by being presents in new and authentic ways. And that is what I want for Christmas.
With much love, MERRY CHRISTMAS, Mike & Patsy Coe