Thursday, December 18, 2008

The "W" in Christmas ~ a story...

Just a sweet story...

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."

The time for the performance came and I filed in 10 minutes early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down. 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 sons' 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 beanies 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 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:
"C H R I S T W A S L O V E"

And, I believe, He still is.




22 comments:

Anonymous said...

I LOVE this stoey! Very uplifting!! Thanks for sharing.

Kaylynn said...

What a great story! Merry Christmas!

The Berry's Patch said...

Your right, it's a very sweet story!

Merry Christmas!

Beth at Aunties said...

It truly is a sweet story. Thank you for sharing it with us. Can I share this on my family blog? It is beautiful!

Merry Christmas!

Scrappy Girl said...

Oh I love that story...so great! It gave me chill bumps.

nikkicrumpet said...

Very cute story!!! And yes he was and is!

tiki_lady said...

we have this story too. I like it!

Lisa Loo said...

I had never heard this one before---thanx for sharing!! It was so lovely to read the story while listening to AMy Grant--one of those brief moments that fill my Christmas with great joy!!

Wonder Woman said...

That is so poignant! Thanks for sharing.

Pancake said...

great story!

Jodi said...

Oh I love ♥ it!!! Just what I needed!

Becky said...

Awesome story! And so true.

Melissa said...

What a sweet story...Thanks for sharing. Hope you and your family have a Very Merry Christmas.

Anonymous said...

FYI, this true story, originally titled "Christmas Love", was written and copyrighted by Candy Chand, author of several published inspirational works. It is available as a small, single-story, hard-back gift book at stores across the USA and at Amazon.com online.

It has been circulating around the net and emails for years, of course; good classic stuff.
-MikeZB

tammy said...

Love this! Thanks for sharing it with us.

chelle said...

I love this story.

Good reminder.

Merry Christmas. m

Jan said...

That is the best story. I love those accidental lessons like that. Hope all is jolly over your way. Ho ho ho.....

MERRIANNE said...

that is such a beautiful story! you always have the best stories...and they are all true!!!! what a fabulous life you have!!! and what fabulous hair you have!!!!!!

Sher said...

That's just beautiful Thank you for sharing that story!

Sher said...

p.s. I tagged you. Come and Play!

Kaci said...

That gave me goosebumps!! Thank you for sharing!

Ronda said...

A sister missionary in my ward shared this story while at our home for dinner this week. It was something her mom sent her. Her name is Sister Stoddard.
I asked her for a copy, but I thought I would just google it.