we have a very rich fantasy life here.
fairies live under some of our trees. no, we haven't actually seen them, but we know they live there because sometimes we leave food out for them overnight and by the morning it is gone.
likewise, ella's dollies can walk. she hasn't actually seen them do it, but she knows they do because any dolly that is still in the living room when she goes to bed each night will get up and do something fun while she's sleeping, like play with blocks or have school.
but there is someone special who does things even greater than that. he loves every child, he can look into their hearts and knows their most secret wishes and needs. he sees everything a child does and he rewards each one according to the way they live and the things they do. he can be everywhere, he can see everything, there is no place a child can hide from him. he is eternal, and is the embodiment of love.
i'm talking, of course, about santa. :)
you see, as catholic christians we welcome santa into our christmas season. after all, if my child can't believe that a man who lives in a land she has never seen can fly all around the world in a single night in a sleigh drawn by magic reindeer, leaving gifts for children simply because he loves them and wants them to be happy, even though she has never actually seen him do these things...
how can she be expected to believe that a teenage palestinian virgin peasant gave birth to the son of god? how could she possibly believe that the savior of the world willingly became a mere human and then let us, his creatures, kill him--then in secret raised himself from the dead--all simply because he loves us and wants us to have the gift of eternal life?
so this advent as in years past, we'll visit santa and ella will whisper a christmas wish to him. we'll also put up a nativity scene and we'll pray at the foot of the manger. we'll believe that love abounds and that it often comes from unexpected places. and we'll let ella practice sharing and receiving the spirit of christmas wherever it can be found. even if there is an elf involved.
