(idea) by Lometa Fri Dec 15 2000 at 18:01:40

Hello World!!

I went to Juanells' funeral last Saturday. I sat alone, not far from Dr. Mac and his family. I was suddenly aware of my own mortality as her son gave his eulogy.....flashes of my son giving mine...Jaunell was a prayer warrior which meant she was going to pray for me whether I liked it or not...and a lot of the time I didn't like what she was praying for about me, but that was the way Juanell was and she was loved for that. She had courage. We disagreed on a lot of things, but still managed to keep a friendship. One in particular was the question Does Santa exist?. I struggled with this as a parent...for a long time.

Do I lie to my children? Oh and how I hate the commercialism of the holiday season....

Juanell and I would talk about this for hours. She and her daughter decided that her grandchildren would know the truth. So it began with the oldest of her grandchildern then later her traditions changed. I had a husband I had to compromise with, he wanted the joy of seeing his kids believe in Santa and I did too. Holidays were hard for me growing up I wanted it to be better for my sons. It's a part of our culture and heritage I would ask her....what about miracles? I believe in miracles! Stubbornly I would argue....I'm not letting Corperate America and Madison Avenue rob me of the Christmas spirit! and I was adamant ! So much so that when my sons ask today if I believe in Santa that's my answer I believe in miracles. But I made sure my sons understood the real meaning of Christmas. It is to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Every Christmas morning we put The Baby Jesus in the nativity and have a birthday cake to celebrate his birth.

I asked both of my sons recently about raising them to believe in Santa. They both say No. They don't feel as if they've been lied to, that they still believe in the miracle of Santa.

Imagine my surprise when the pastor at Juanell's funeral read the memories that her grandchildren had written...about how their favorite memory about her was the small cupcakes that she would prepare for them Christmas morning with a candle and they would sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. How humbling I never knew she had adopted that tradition.
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again – rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
-Philippians 4: 4-7 (NLT)
Rest now thou good and faithful servant!

Devotion

I like it!