So my husband had the talk with my eight-year-old. Well, not THAT talk, the Santa talk. I really didn't want this to happen. He is my baby and I wasn't ready for it. I can't think of a bigger sign that childhood is passing than no longer believing in Santa. It made me so sad, but we had to make a decision concerning him. Knowing his disposition we knew that one of us needed to be the one to tell him. He is exactly the kind of kid that would either get in a fight defending Santa and cry for days if he found out in an uncontrolled way. The other problem was the whole, nothing is impossible for Santa but some things are impossible for mom and dad's bank account, thing. So I finally gave in and let Adam have the talk with Judah. I was expecting tears and hysterics, but boy was I wrong. The end of the conversation went something like this:
Judah: So you bought me my DS?
Adam: Yeah. You ok with that?
Judah: You and mom took money out of your bank account to buy me things so I would believe in Santa. Yeah, I think I'm ok with that.
And that was it. What surprised me so much was not just the lack of drama, sadness and disappointment, but the sense of gratitude that came across in his words. The “you did that for me?” attitude that he had, amazed me. And I was grateful for the gift my son is to me.
In the days since then I have been thinking a lot about believing in illusions. In today's busy world it is easy to do that. We use credit cards to over spend, pretending we have money we don't. We work our job and rely on our talents and abilities to keep those jobs and provide for our families. We count on friends and loved ones to provide us support and advice in difficult times and in simple decisions. Self-sufficiency becomes our Santa. We believe whole-heartedly in that illusion, and trust that it will not disappoint.
I think maybe it is time for us, as Christians, to grow up a little. We need to truly realize the source of our blessings. The Bible says that God is our provider, that He will supply our needs (Phil. 4:19), and that every good and perfect gift comes from Him (James 1:17). Everything I have and every moment I live is a direct result of God and His goodness to me. How can we think of Jesus in the fullness of everything He did and not say, “Wow! You did that for me?”
What strikes me is, Judah didn't say “thank you” to us, but just him acknowledging where the gifts came from made me feel like he was grateful. So let's make that the focus of our Christmas this year. Let's just acknowledge that our blessings are from Him and not of our own doing. Let's set aside our illusion and embrace the reality. God is very good to us all!
Judah: So you bought me my DS?
Adam: Yeah. You ok with that?
Judah: You and mom took money out of your bank account to buy me things so I would believe in Santa. Yeah, I think I'm ok with that.
And that was it. What surprised me so much was not just the lack of drama, sadness and disappointment, but the sense of gratitude that came across in his words. The “you did that for me?” attitude that he had, amazed me. And I was grateful for the gift my son is to me.
In the days since then I have been thinking a lot about believing in illusions. In today's busy world it is easy to do that. We use credit cards to over spend, pretending we have money we don't. We work our job and rely on our talents and abilities to keep those jobs and provide for our families. We count on friends and loved ones to provide us support and advice in difficult times and in simple decisions. Self-sufficiency becomes our Santa. We believe whole-heartedly in that illusion, and trust that it will not disappoint.
I think maybe it is time for us, as Christians, to grow up a little. We need to truly realize the source of our blessings. The Bible says that God is our provider, that He will supply our needs (Phil. 4:19), and that every good and perfect gift comes from Him (James 1:17). Everything I have and every moment I live is a direct result of God and His goodness to me. How can we think of Jesus in the fullness of everything He did and not say, “Wow! You did that for me?”
What strikes me is, Judah didn't say “thank you” to us, but just him acknowledging where the gifts came from made me feel like he was grateful. So let's make that the focus of our Christmas this year. Let's just acknowledge that our blessings are from Him and not of our own doing. Let's set aside our illusion and embrace the reality. God is very good to us all!
