The Spirit of Christmas

I had the most lovely experience yesterday. For me, it really illustrated the spirit of Christmas!

Our little Sunday School class, made up three young children, was scheduled to participate in the church service. It was the first Sunday of Advent, and we were going to do a short choral reading followed by lighting the first candle of Advent, then finishing up by singing Away in a Manger. We were all excited! One of the little girls was so excited, she asked her Mom to buy her a new dress for this very special occasion. She was excited to wear it and excited to participate.

But a heavy snow happened yesterday, and the little girl wasn’t able to make it to church after all. Her Mom texted me to say she was feeling so disappointed, and that she had asked her Mom to ask me if we could do our little presentation next Sunday too.

So we proceeded with our contribution. As expected, the congregation loved watching we, the Sunday School teachers, and the two children who were able to be present, enthusiastically sing our song, along with doing the actions we had made up to go with it. At the end, I told the congregation and the choir behind us that I had a request to make of them. I explained that our third Sunday school child was so disappointed that she couldn’t make it today, and that she had requested a redo next Sunday, so she could still participate, and wear her new dress! Our truly kind and compassionate congregation responded with an enthusiastic,” YES!”, to her request. So we get to do it all over again next week!

After all, what more appropriate song could we choose to sing each week of Advent than Away in a Manger? I think it’s meant not only for the children, but for the trusting child that lives within each of us.

May your Advent preparations be sweet, and may you have all the time you need to do what’s most important to you in the lead up to Christmas morning.

In many ways, it truly is ‘the most wonderful time of the year.’