the W in Christmas

We pass this story along to you;
a gift we received from our friend Jill.
The author is unknown

The "W" in Christmas

Last 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:

"C H R I S T W A S L O V E"

"We're just trying to keep on keeping on"

Can we set aside our differences long enough
to understand the essence of love - however
we chooze to believe it......?