So FB wouldnt let me post this as a note... Fire away world... I don’t make many sweeping declarations. In fact if you have paid any attention to my postings in recent memory, 98% of them are about my kids. Photos, funny anecdotes, or observations about what the kids have gotten themselves into are the majority of what I am comfortable sharing on a day to day basis. Mostly due to the fact that many of my friends and family are enjoying the development of our children vicariously through the postings of my wife and I. Having been a former Scrooge I would like to say a few things as we kick off this holiday season. First and foremost a Scrooge is a person who becomes disillusioned with the idea of Christmas and a Grinch is one who wants to take the joy of Christmas away from others. I admit it that I was a Scrooge mostly from 2000 through 2012. Not that I did not enjoy Christmas, just between the church ideas and the perceived over commercialization of the holiday, I became disillusioned with what it meant. Don’t get me wrong I follow the church and the story of the Christchild as a matter of faith and principle. However I began to feel that as a society Americans had lost sight of the “true meaning of Christmas.” Many years ago the preacher at my church gave a sermon based on the principle of having the “faith of a child.” Apparently this was a message for ‘future Erik’ as ‘then Erik’ paid about as much attention to it as one might expect a teenager to. Anyhow, the concept has new meaning to ‘present Erik’ now that Alexandria is actually able to be excited about Christmas. To me “the faith of a child” is the belief without reservation. I asked Alex the other day what Santa Claus does. Her response was “Presents!” with the biggest smile an almost three year old can manage. While I am definitely not the most pious of family leaders I can take away from this the blind faith a child has. She would not know the difference between the tooth fairy and Stone Cold Steve Austin because to her they both exist in an imaginary world. However she knows that Santa brings her presents and soon she will know that Jesus gives her unconditional love. Until recently I had forgotten the meaning of Christmas spirit. The commercialization and the lack of snow in Louisiana and Washington had taken their toll. Between my church upbringing and my exposure to the secular world, I was torn between what I had been taught what Christmas and what I saw what Christmas had become. It was not until my children came around that I really began to “believe” in Christmas again. Yes, the holiday was always about the Christchild, but in the end could it not be about something more? What if instead of a Christian sentiment it was all about the “faith of a child”? The belief that there is someone out there who loves you without reservation. Willing to sacrifice whatever it takes (in Christianity’s case God’s own son) for the sake of your happiness. The love of a parent. This to me is peace on earth and goodwill to all. I am not asking you to change anything about yourselves or your opinions on the upcoming holidays. I just hope that as the father of a young girl and boy, I can remember to remember the faith of a child. So as I watch Elf for the billionth time, it is not about the presents or the endstate, but journey and the faith to get there that matters.
Posted on: Wed, 27 Nov 2013 21:12:25 +0000