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by Dennis Wheeler
I'd like to pass along this precious story as we enter into the final days leading up to Christmas Day...the birthday of our Lord & Savior - Jesus Christ!
"My son, Nicholas, was in Kindergarten. 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 performance. But, unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher. She assured me that I could attend the dress rehearsal the morning of the performance. All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then. Fortunately, Nicholas was happy with the compromise.
So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes early, found a seat in the school auditorium and sat down. Around the room, I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their seats. As we waited, the students were accompanied by their teachers and they sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to the platform to perform their song.
Because our public school system had long stopped referring to the holilday 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 it's bold title.
Nicholas was aglow, as were all 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"...but it was upside-down. She seemed totally unaware that 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 the teachers tried to shush the children, the giggling continued until the last letter was raised, and then...we all saw it together! A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen. In that instant, we understood the reason why we celebrated the holiday in the first place. Why that, even in the chaos, there was indeed a purpose for all the 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, HE STILL IS!!
Amazed in His presence and humbled by His love...I pray that you will have a very Merry Christmas as you reflect on His amazing love for YOU!
He serves as the Senior Pastor with southwest Virginia church... a loving church family in Abingdon.
He and his wife Sharon have been married for over 27 years and are the proud parents of two beautiful daughters, one son-in-law, and two precious grandchildren, the second arrived arrived on the scene in September 2004!!
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