The Advent Calendar posed the following questions for December 6: Did you ever send a letter to Santa? Did you ever visit Santa and “make a list?” Do you still believe in Santa Claus? I had several things I had to do that prevented me from doing the post on December 6, but I still wanted to write about these questions.
I never sent a letter to Santa. We always got to see Santa usually at a Christmas party at our church and also at the city auditorium where my Grandmother lived fifteen miles from our home. We would stand in line to see Santa and tell him what we wanted.
Santa has continued to be a part of my life and blessed my family throughout the years. Growing up we questioned Santa coming down the chimney. We had a coal burning furnace which wouldn't have been a great way for Santa to enter our home. So we figured Santa either came in through the door or he came in magically. Part of the fun of Santa is not having all the answers but imagining and believing.
As a young mother looking at spending Christmas alone because my daughters' father had gone to back to his home country to spend Christmas with his family, I was fearful of being alone. I had grown up in a small town where we didn't even lock the door. Now I was in a big city where neighbors had had their homes robbed and vandalized and even one neighbor had been shot in his home during a breakin. I was scared of being responsible for two little girls in such a situation. I believe it was the night before Christmas Eve after 9 o'clock at night when there was a knock at the door. I wasn't expecting anyone. I was nervous as I peered out a window at the front porch to see who was there. There was no one there. Having heard warnings of thieves knocking on the door to see if anyone is at home and then breaking in, I couldn't stop worrying that someone was planning to breakin. I checked to make sure every window and door was locked and then went to bed for a restless night's sleep. The next morning when I went out the front door, I found a bag. Inside were two baby dolls. Santa had left the dolls on the front porch for my girls. I realized how supicious I had become instead of believing in the goodness of others.
Santa came in succeeding years in many different ways. Some years packages filled with clothes, toys, and food were left on the porch when we weren't home. One year Santa gave me gift certificates in advance to buy gifts for my girls. One year a cashier's check arrived in an envelope with no return address. One year a UPS driver delivered a package with no return address, and he asked us who it was from as he had to put down who the sender was. No one had let us know they were sending a package. No one ever asked if we got the package okay. It was filled with gifts for our girls. We only could say it must be from Santa. Another year a friend brought by a bicycle for my daughter saying it wasn't from him, he was only delivering it for somone else. Santa has come in many ways and brought many wonderful things into my life. Santa has been a real blessing to me. Santa has made me realize there is much goodness in the world.
Some people don't want to have Santa come. They still give gifts, but they don't do things anonymously. They only believe in the facts and don't want magical beliefs or imagination to enter in. But believing in something good is a wonderful thing even though you can't explain it or prove it.
No comments:
Post a Comment