All the world needs now is Santa

Santa Claus was always a very important person in my house when I was growing up. He was the Big Man, the Jolly Old Elf, and the one who would know if I was being bad or good - regardless of whether I had my parents fooled or not. Santa always came, whether my parents had enough money for Christmas gifts or if it was a tight year financially, Santa could always be counted on to come through with something special.

The tradition of the Jolly Old Elf was one that I was very happy and eager to pick up with my own children. Telling the tales of Christmas origins, such as the first Christmas tree, are stories my kids still enjoy hearing, even though my two oldest are in and approaching their teen years. It warms my heart to hear them listen attentively to Christmas stories, and makes my heart feel like bursting with joy when I hear them turn around and re-tell those stories to their toddler brother. They have the Christmas Spirit.

And as much as these things make my heart happy, it saddens me to know that so many children don't have the Christmas Spirit. To them, Christmas is merely a time of year to get things they want. My husband and I were talking about this just a few days ago and I told him that I felt very strongly that the "Me" generation was killing Santa Claus. They are not teaching their children about Santa Claus because it's easier not to. The parents get to lavish their children with gifts galore, and take all the credit for it themselves. This can be doubly seen in a society where marriages are just as likely to fail as they are to succeed and parents resort to trying to buy their place as the child's favorite parent. These kids don't know Santa, and their parents are not teaching them one of the most important lessons of all humanity.

Santa's History

Santa Claus goes by many names and faces. In Dutch and Belgium, where the legend of Santa began, he is referred to as "Sinterklass" and often called "De Goede Sint", or the Good Saint. Santa Claus also goes by the name of Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle,  and Father Christmas. Each of these names are based on individuals who gave gifts to the people of their time, often gifts that made the difference between life and death for individuals. Saint Nicholas, for example, refers to the 4th century Greek Christian bishop Saint Nicholas of Myra. He gave gifts to the poor, including dowries presented to the three daughters of a poor but pious Christian so that his daughters would not be forced into prostitution.

Many people argue that they don't agree with Santa because they are not Christian and obviously Santa is a religious figure. Not entirely true. Santa existed before Christianity, though Christianity did change the face of Christmas when, after the Reformation in 16-17th century Europe, many protestants changed the gift bringer to be that of the Christ Child, or "Christkindl". With the change in name came a change in the date that gifts were exchanged from early December to Christmas eve. For Christians, Santa and Christmas go hand in hand - the gift giver and the ultimate gift. However, Santa doesn't have to be just for Christians. Anybody can experience the wonder and joy of Santa.

The most important lesson of all.....who Santa really is

This is the part that I wish people would pay attention to....the part that every child understands without being told, and that every adult forgets in the hustle and bustle of life. Santa exists, and he does so in each and every single one of us. Santa is the embodiment of the Holy Ghost manifest in each of us. Whether you are giving your money to the poor, sharing a meal with the hungry, or simply giving your love and prayers to someone in need, the Spirit of Christ is there, represented through our sacrifice. Santa is our way of reminding others that we all have received an awesome gift, while at the same time giving thanks to God for the gift of His Son.

Santa exists, as the physical representation of all that is good in our hearts, in our souls, and in our world. When an individual reaches out to someone in need, with no thought of compensation, that is Santa in action. When a person is moved to tears, and to pray, for someone in pain or in need, that is Santa in action. Santa lives, as long as there is compassion and kindness in our hearts.

So to all of you this holiday season, I pray that you will be blessed with peace, love, and happiness in the coming year, and that each of you finds the Santa within your own hearts and that you share his Spirit with those around you.

The Greatest Gift

I was thinking about you the other day and wanted to get you a gift. As I thought more and more I couldn't think of anything worthy to give you. I wanted to get you something special.....something that would show you how special you are to me, how great a friend you are, how much I appreciate you, and how lucky I am to have you as a part of my life. I decided the task was too great to bear alone, so I took my dilemma to God.

I prayed to Him and said, "Lord, I want to get them something special, so they'll know how grateful I am to have them in my life and how much they mean to me."

And then the Lord said, "If you could give them anything, anything at all, what would you give them?"

I thought for several long moments and said, "I would give them peace; peace like I can only find when I am with you, Lord."

And the Lord said, "Is that all?"

I thought some more and said, "If I could give them anything at all, I would give them peace. But I would also give them a lifetime of making sure their needs were met so that they could have security. So I would give them peace and security. And faith, Lord, I think faith is important. With faith they would be able to weather the bleak days knowing that better ones are coming. I would also give them the strength to bear those dark days, to stay strong until the sun shines through the clouds. Yes, Lord, I would give them peace, security, faith, and strength.....and love. Love is important too....maybe the most important. If I could give them love then they would know that they are still special even if the whole world turned it's back on them.....they would still be special to me. That's it. I would give them peace, security, faith, strength, and love."

I thought about this for a moment, wistfully thinking that this was the perfect formula.....all I had to do was find a gift that represented love and strength and faith and security and peace. Where would I find such a gift, though? I frowned, troubled again that I was right back where I started from. But then the Lord spoke to me, and He said, "My child, don't feel sad. I have the perfect gift for you to give." and in my mind flashed a picture of a book. A simple book, aged and weathered by years of pages being gently turned.

"A book, my Lord?"

"MY book, my child. You see, in the Bible....in MY Word, you will find peace that only I can give you, a peace that will make the worries of the world fall at your feet. And security. Through my Word you will see that I will provide for your every need and take care of you all of your days, so that you can rest assured and secure. And faith. In my Word you can have faith that the bleak days are fleeting and better ones are already on the way. And strength. In my Word you can take strength in knowing that the darkness will fall and the Son will shine through to guide you and protect you. Nothing can keep you from the Light of the Son, and in this knowledge you can gather strength to move mountains. And love. My precious dear one, in my Word you will find unconditional love that knows no end, for you are special to me and if the whole world were to turn its back on you then you would still be precious to me, because I love you and there is nothing that can change that. I have already given you these things that you want to give as gifts, and they are all there for the giving in My Word."

And I knew right then and there that He was right....I had already received the greatest gift and it was mine for the giving if I wanted to share it. I could share with you the Word of God and in His words you could find all the things I wanted to give you.......peace, security, faith, strength, and love...the greatest gift, provided by the greatest giver - God.




Peace:  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11: 28-30

Security:  "I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:19-34

Faith: "Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.  And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." - John 14:11-14

Strength: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. - Ephesians 6: 10-17

and Love: "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” -  John 14: 18-21

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:37-39