The "W" in Christmas

**Mom23boys** · 12-10-2002, 02:44 PM

Received this in an email and wanted to share it.

> Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful
> experience. I had cut back on nonessential obligations -- extensive card
> writing, endless baking, decorating, and even overspending. Yet still, I
> found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family
> moments, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas.
>
> My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an
> exciting season for a six year old. For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs
> for his school's "Winter Pageant." I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be
> working the night of the production. Unwilling to miss his shining
> moment, I spoke with his teacher. She assured me there'd be a dress
> rehearsal the morning of the presentation. All parents unable to attend
that evening were welcome to come then. Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise.
>
> So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes
> early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the
> room, I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their seats. As I
> waited, the students were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by
> their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song.
>
> Because the public school system had long stopped referring to
> the holiday as "Christmas," I didn't expect anything other than fun,
> commercial entertainment -- songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer.
>
> So, when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love," I was slightly
> taken aback by its bold title. Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his
> classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters, and bright snowcaps
upon their heads.
> Those in the front row center stage, held up large letters, one
> by one, to spell out the title of the song. As the class would sing "C is
> for Christmas," a child would hold up the letter C. Then, "H is for
Happy,"
> and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had presented the
> complete message, "Christmas Love." The performance was going smoothly,
> until suddenly, we noticed her; a small, quiet, girl in the front row
> holding the letter "M" upside down, totally unaware her letter "M"
> appeared as a "W."
>
> The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little
> one's mistake. But she had no idea they were laughing at her, so she
> stood tall, proudly holding her "W." Although many teachers tried to shush
> the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and
> we all saw it together. A hush came over the audience and eyes began to
> widen.
>
> In that instant, we understood the reason we were there, why we
> celebrated the holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos, there
was a purpose for our festivities.
>
> For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud
> and clear: "CHRISTWAS LOVE"
> And, I believe, He still is.
> --unknown
>
> Mark 12:30-31:
> "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
> and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,
> and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
>
> And the second is like, namely this,
> Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
> There is none other commandment greater than these."
>
> Wishing you and yours a happy and blessed Christmas.