Gresham, age seven, handed me a wrinkled scrap of paper. On it was scrawled a list.
As a child I at least had the courtesy to hand my parents a list complete with corresponding page numbers from the Service Merchandise catalog and prices for each item. Kids these days.
“Why do you think you’re getting presents for Christmas? It’s not your birthday is it?”
Unfazed by the runaround he said, “Granda and Nonnie buy me presents.”
“True, but why? It’s not your birthday. Kinda weird huh?”
“They just do,” he said matter-of-factly as if explaining to a three year-old that two plus two is four. It just is.
“It’s Jesus’ birthday but you get the presents? What does Jesus get?”
He closed his eyes and pondered. Stumped.
I grinned, rather amazed, honestly, at my ability to create such a profound perspective-shifting moment in the life of my child from the raw materials of, well, nothing but a tiny scrap of paper with ten little misspelled words on it.
Those Nobel folks should create a prize for fathers like me. They should study this brilliant exchange in child development classes. Perhaps I should teach one. Or would the University be beneath a man of my obvious skill. Perhaps the UN could dispatch me to first world nations to negotiate an immediate cancellation of third world debts.
Then the little bugger’s eyes popped open again.
“Does Jesus have a grandma?” he asked.
“Well, I guess so. I guess he does.”
“You should probably ask her what he’s getting.”
pendy says:
Gotta love it when kids hone in on the heart of the matter! Why do they have to burst our bubble in the process??? ๐
Jason says:
Ah, the wisdom of children. ๐
E-Jayjo says:
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!! That is too funny!
Bethany says:
Aw, that’s cute:) I love it when stuff like this happens with all my nieces and nephews and students. It’s pretty great. Especially that moment where you can’t think of anything but “uhhhh…”
deirdre says:
brilliant.
Tannis says:
i think you gave him an opportunity to tap into the part of him that is just like you. : )
Dave Haupert says:
Hate to take it all serious and all, but how did Jesus say that we should give gifts to him?
Matthew: 21:34
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Seems Christ was saying that when you give to others in need, you’re giving to Him. We can certainly argue that our kids don’t need a Nintendo DS, so giving them one is not giving one to Christ! But we can certainly say that the spirit of giving to others does not confuse the meaning of Christmas!
In fact, it’s a great way for organizations like Compassion to present their case for giving to others on Christmas!
Shaun Groves says:
But he’s seven, Dave. Have you tried to explain the transubstantiation of Jesus among poor to a seven year-old? ; )
Dave Haupert says:
true dat, I have actually and failed miserably. That said, I wasn’t asking them the tough questions, like why do we give presents to others and not Jesus on Christmas. It seems like if you’re not able to answer, you shouldn’t ask that question in the first place. It’s like asking a 7 year old if they know where babies come from and then not being able to respond when they give you the stork story ๐
Keep fighting the good fight. Love your blog and the questions you ask us and your kids both!
Kelli says:
Ha! Leave it to a seven year old to put you in your place. No need to overcomplicate things, Dad. I think he’s got it covered.
And, to be quite honest, I’ve never in my life thought of Jesus’ grandma. I bet she did give him presents.
I love it. ๐
Kacie says:
that’s fantastic. Smart kid. The tradition in my family is to have a Christmas Present for Jesus time right after we read the Christmas story on Christmas morning. It’s a little cheesy but it put it into perspective for us as kids. We’d all “give” something like, for the little ones, “I’m going to obey mom more this year”. Sorta a new years resolutionish type of thing, something you want to resolve to do for Jesus. For us as older folks it’s usually something you feel God is prompting change in your heart on anyways… pride… etc.
Each year we open Jesus’ Christmas present and read last year’s list, and that his the amazing part. For the most part we’ve forgotten what last year’s gifts were, and it’s incredible to see the journey God has taken us on in those areas. Then we write everyone’s gift for this year on a slip of paper and add it to the pile and rewrap the gift, ready to be reopened next year.
Lindsay @ Not2Us says:
LOL! One of the readers over on my blog has a question for Jesus’s Grandma, too. Was she in Bethlehem that night? Why couldn’t Joseph and Mary stay with her that night?
Whenever you find her, send her our way! ๐
FzxGkJssFrk says:
!! awesome.
Nicole @ Here's The Diehl says:
i love this…
Nicci Feathers says:
The purity and innocence in this is priceless!
Jill Foley says:
This is great…
We actually threw an open house “Birthday Party for Jesus” and invited guests to sponsor children, buy mosquito nets, etc.
My girls are 5 and 3 and they are slowly “getting it”. When we pray for our sponsored children or fill our shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child or mommy plays violin at the nursing home, we talk about these acts of “giving to Jesus”.
And then they get LOTS of presents from Grandma on Christmas morning. : )
Liz says:
Great post! LOL! Out of the mouth of babes! And what a great pic of your mom!
And ummm…why did the commenter above me leave you a link for a colon cleanse thing? Ew.
Stacey Treadwell says:
The gotta love the little kids!! Some of the world’s most profound statements and realizations come from them and they are just so darn cute! That one cracked me up. Too sweet!