On the first day of Christmas...

In 1897, eight year old Virginia wrote to her local newspaper and asked if there was a Santa Clause. The touching response has become a popular Christmas story and is indeed one of my personal favorites. Francis Church wrote, "Virginia, your little friends are wrong. Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Clause. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Clause. It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias."

I believe in the spirit of Santa Clause. Just recently, my children and I chose a child off the giving tree at one of the grocery stores. My children asked if they could shop for this child so he could have a wonderful Christmas. It was amazing to watch how excited they were to shop for someone they didn't know, and Kenna kept telling me that "He was gonna love it!" As I stood on the aisle watching my children be Santa Clause for another human being, I was humbled by their immediate willingness to give. It was a teaching moment, them teaching me, that yes, there is a Santa Clause. He comes in all shapes and sizes, male and female. Santa Clause is present in every loving act of service we provide for someone else. It is sometimes easy to get all wrapped up in the commercialism of Santa Clause forgetting that underneath that red suit and white beard, Santa is the spirit of true giving. I believe!