To Santa or Not To Santa

A good friend of mine posted this article on Facebook. It's a controversial topic no matter what. You can't make it controversial. It already is. Like this issue of breast or bottle, t.v or no t.v., inoculate or not,  and do I dare mention discipline - yeah, probably not. Loving our children will always strike passionate chords. By God's grace we choose for them, and so they grow, and so do we.

I am grateful for social media in that it does pave a way for us to process together (I love processing with women!), and in the processing we learn from each other. Don't we? Thank you mom friends, for what you bring to the world with your heart and your computer and your moments between work, dinner plans, and loads of laundry. Humbly I pause with you a moment to join the Santa Clause conversation.

I love this blogger's heart for God (and my friend's heart with her), but I wonder about the impact her words have had on Gospel centered moms who did not withhold the wonder of Santa from their babes. I also wonder the impact her words have had on moms who are peering in our Christian Christmas windows and wondering about our perspective in light of their own. Do they feel condemned by us? Do they wonder if there are some secret beliefs held by the Church, scripted in some hidden book, possibly written by moms, that Santa Clause is wrong practice? And so, if they believe in Christ at all, would they come away from this blog feeling as if no matter what - when it comes to church mamas, they aren't fitting in the Christmas cookie cutter, because they're platter includes Santa and a reindeer or two.

While this blogger  beautifully expresses her heart for God, and does not object to Santa entirely, she left out one part that I would like to add. I hope she would not object, but agree with me. I'm sure I would enjoy her company, especially if she enjoys coffee and cookies while she blogs.

So here is my response to Sarah Wallace's article: (Thank you, Sarah Wallace, for this thought provoking post! And thank you for Katie for loving God so beautifully as a mom, a wife, a friend that you would care to encourage all of us to do the same.)

I feel for the moms who read this article and think - "I failed". If your kids believe in Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny - because you encouraged this belief, you did not fail them. You created a world of fantasy, one in which you hoped their innocence would thrive; one that can be easily distinguished from the Truth of the Word of God as they grow and understand the world, what is factual and what is fantasy. Santa Mama, you did not fail your babes! 

Teach them to seek God in His Word with you as they grow. You do not seek Santa's saving grace, his wisdom, nor his instruction in a book that he wrote. You seek the Living God. Teach them to pray with you - thanking God for all you have, making every petition to Him with thanksgiving. You do not pray to Santa. Teach them to emulate those who live for God and love as Jesus did. You are their very first role model. And with you - St. Nicholas was one of those people. No matter what - if you encourage Santa fantasy or not - God is faithful to shape the hearts of his people - our growing babes, and you and I with them. So Gospel Mamas, don't fret about what should you do now if you have already fostered the belief in Santa. Your kids will not worship Santa or forsake the truth God teaches them through you as they learn The Bible. They will do just what the rest of us did - they'll figure out the line in that song that says, "I saw Mommy kissing Santa Clause underneath the mistletoe last night", and they'll laugh about what that really means. 

So, when they ask you if Santa is real or not, you can tell them - he is. He lived, gave gifts to others, died, and we believe he is in heaven with God, because he loved Him very much - enough to spend his life giving to others with all that he had. And that kind of wonderful, secretive, mysterious, selfless giving is exactly what you wanted them to experience so that they could do the same thing for others. Give them ideas for how to do this kind of gift giving, so they can experience the wonder of Christmas - a selfless, humble kind of giving. Does this compete with The Gospel? No way!! It reflects The Gospel. 

Merry Christmas!!!
#thegospel