During the Thanksgiving weekend while my parents were visiting, we watched a late 1990s remake of a Christmas classic, "Miracle on 34th Street," which basically is about a little girl, Susan, who doesn't believe in Santa Claus because her workaholic/realistic mother has convinced Susan he doesn't exist. Then, the mother hires Kris Kringle to work as "Santa" in an upscale NYC department store during the season to listen to all the good little girls' and boys' wishes. Susan tells Kris she doesn't believe, and the only way she will believe is if HE grants her wishes--which she's told no one else. Well, come Christmas morning both of her wishes come true! And they all live happily ever after . . .
So, flash back to 1979 when Susan, I mean Shelia stopped believing. There was nothing more that little cowgirl wanted from Santa than a saddle. And guess what? On Christmas morning, under our little tree in my favorite house on Dunlap Route, there was a SADDLE!!! But it wasn't just ANY saddle, it was the saddle that had been in our tack shed for a while. You see I pretty much went all over the ranch, and the tack shed was no exception. And I put 2 and 2 together, and right then and there, my Santa died. As I recall, my parents even tried to convince me that since the saddle was big, Santa had to "store the saddle" in advance; but like Susan's mother, I too was a realist, and the truth was out. I really don't know who was more crushed, me or my parents, but we moved on, and we still exchange gifts and Christmas morning is still a special time when we open our stockings of fun small gifts from each other.
Now, fast forward to 2010, when I watched "Miracle on 34th Street." I realized that maybe I gave up too easily. Or maybe I believed in the wrong person. You see, I quit writing letters to Santa; why waste my time? And, so I stopped asking. But, I also stopped believing in something more important than a guy in a red suit. I stopped believing in the Spirit of Christmas. Oh, I celebrate the MEANING...Jesus' birth, and the spirit of giving...but watching that movie made me think about MIRACLES. They do exist. They happen every day. We just have to talk to someone bigger than Santa. We have to talk to the LORD. We don't have to wait until December. We can make a list, big or small, every day. And we can write that list down or whisper it or shout it out loud.
It's only taken me several decades, but I finally figured out the miracle of Christmas! It took some remake of a TV Show, and a childhood memory, but this year, I'm sending my wish list to someone much greater than Santa. My Christmas wish for you, is that you too, find your Christmas miracle this year.
Great thoughts Shelia!
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