Abbey, Santa and God

"As for me and my house, we will trust in Santa"

I know I sort of changed this verse a little, but I'm ok with that. Abbey visited Santa for the first time the other day and would you believe she did not cry! I must admit she didn't laugh, giggle and smile either.

Rachel and I had "the conversation" last night. You know, the conversation most church of Christ parents probably had at some point, "what are we going to tell our child about Santa, will we tell Abbey that Santa's real?" The conversation was VERY short. Our decision...Santa IS REAL! My mother and I LOVE Christmas. The rest of the family likes it too, but I don't know if they like it like mom and I do. My dad would be fine with a cup of coffee, a copy of the Detroit Free Press and some nuts. He could probably do with or without the tree, lights, parades and all the other stuff that makes it X-mas. My mom convinced my dad to take her to see "The Polar Express" last Chritmas season. Mom loved it, and again, dad would have rather had the coffee and paper. Why did mom enjoy it??? I think it's because she still believes. Believes in Santa and the magic of X-mas. You might think all this is silly, but I have a point.

I'm going to teach Abbey about God one day. I'm going to ask her to trust in Him and put all her faith in Him. What am I going to say when she asks, "Where is He? Can I meet Him? Can I see Him?" I'm going to ask her to believe with all her heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And I will explain that He was born of a virgin. Will she buy it??? I'm going to do my best to convince her that Jesus Christ took upon Him the sin of the world, died for every human being that ever lived and then was raised from the dead, ascended back to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God, His Father (who by the way she still cannot see). I'm going to plead with her that Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit to be our counselor and comforter. She will be taught how to pray and be told that God, Jesus and the Spirit listen to us as we try to communicate our feelings. I'm going to try and pull ALL this off KNOWING that I will never be able to introduce her to God.

Yes, you bet I will tell her that Santa is real and she can believe in him as long as she wants to. And maybe she will turn out like my mother and at 55 years of age still believe.

I love you Abbey, Santa will be here soon.

Dad