I wrote this note 7 years ago this month. Little did I know we would bury our oldest son five months later. In light of that day, this topic seems much more trivial. Love your children, your family, and your friends. Point them to Christ every chance you get. No matter how you choose to do things in your home, respect others who don't do things your way, and ask kindly that they respect your decisions. Have a Merry Christmas, friends! ~Kristin
Every year at this time, I am reminded of a time in my life where I had what I will call a "crisis of faith" over what I now realize was something so trivial. I share this in the hopes that maybe a young mom out there might not have to go through what I did, or that if you find yourself on the other side of this, you will remember to be loving and gracious to those moms who might not do things your way.
Almost fourteen years ago, I was a young mom to two precious little boys. We were looking for a new church to join. A friend of mine recommended that I visit a local church with a meeting designed specifically for mothers who had preschool aged children. I thought that would be a great place to meet some new women who were in the same phase of life as I was. When I walked through the door there were handouts on the table about certain holidays of the year and why Christians shouldn't participate in some of the traditions. I was quite taken aback. I respect different opinions on these holidays, but as a young mom, I let my children believe in Santa and saw nothing wrong with that. Santa wasn't the only guy with a target on his back that day, but he is the only one I will address today.
I believed in Santa growing up, and I have known for quite some time that he is not real. I grew up in a family where we balanced a little Santa fun while celebrating the birth of the Christ child. I would like to think that we have done this in our home. On this particular morning, I just felt assaulted. It wasn't just the handouts. It was the moms who felt impressed to share that they didn't do Santa for a myriad of reasons. It was also the way they said it. They made the few moms who like old Santa feel like we were in some way inferior as moms and Christians. I left that meeting feeling like a horrible mom and literally in tears. Forget any encouragement. I found myself questioning my salvation, my mothering, and never wanting to return to this church again. I tearfully talked to my wise husband that night, and he assured me like he always does that Santa or not I was a fit mother. He also encouraged me to give the group another try. The last thing I wanted to do was walk back through the doors of that church. I am glad I listened to him. We have been members there now for fourteen years, and I am so thankful for the friends we have made, and for how we have grown in our faith over those years.
I believe as Christians that we are to stand up for truth, Biblical truth. There are some truths as Christians on which we should never waiver. Jesus is God's son. He is the only way to Heaven. The Bible is the infallible word of God. There are many more. I have found myself asking lately, "Why do we focus on things that really don't matter?" I am also wondering when it comes to issues like this why we feel the need to fight these battles that really shouldn't be battles? I haven't really weighed in on this at church for fear of excommunication. This is the first time I have said much about this publicly. A parent's decision to let their child believe in Santa is not an issue of salvation or holiness, yet we feel like we need to tell people why we do or don't do Santa. I guess I still don't get it. These are the things that drive wedges in between Christians, and frankly, keep unbelievers from entering our doors. I find myself wondering how many parents we have chased away because they didn't fit the mold we thought they should fit, and it breaks my heart.
My hope this Christmas is that our focus will be on Jesus. I also hope that no matter what other traditions we observe, we will show love and kindness for those who might not celebrate exactly like we do. I hope our children see us loving Jesus, loving them, and loving and reaching out to people who need things much more than we do. I harken back to that old song that I learned as a child, “And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love." The lost don't care whether or not we believe in Santa. They only care about how we show them Christ's love. Everything else pales in comparison.
As Pastor Jack Hayford so sweetly says in his article About "Believing in Santa", "Even though a small percentage of the Christian community takes issue with Santa, I find it hard to be threatened by him. I also find it impossible to believe either God the Father or Christ the Son is likely to be eclipsed by the silhouette of his sleigh rising in the Christmas sky." For those of you who love Pastor Hayford as I do, here is that link. http://livingway.org/articles/SANTA2.html
Well, I guess you have figured out by now that I don't have a problem with Santa. In fact, I am pretty fond of him. I have three children who no longer believe in Santa, and they didn't seem to be warped in any way when they found our he wasn't real. I do miss that phase of their lives. It was so fun!
No matter how you celebrate this Christmas, I hope all of my friends have a peaceful, joyful, very Merry Christmas! Know that you are important, and that Jesus loves you so much (whether you are fond of Santa or not)!
