My girls have been blessed with some of the very best teachers out there! I will be forever grateful for so many who instilled the love of learning and the importance of confidence while showing love, grace, and patience toward my sweeties. When Meredith was in 2nd grade, she had one of these, a special angel disguised as her teacher. For many reasons, this particular teacher became evidence of God’s hand leading us through her elementary years.
So, when Meredith announced that her class was planning a surprise birthday celebration for her teacher, I promised her we could get a gift for her special day. Because it was so close to Christmas and I knew her faith was an important part of her life, I decided to get a CD that included a collection of traditional Christian Christmas music from a local Bible bookstore.
Since mornings at our house were anything but organized and orderly in those days, we were all rushing through our daily routine with little time to spare on the day of the party. I knew I needed to send the gift in on this day, but it still was not ready to be delivered. I had everything I needed, a gift bag, tissue paper, a card, and the gift; I just needed to assemble it all. As I was getting ready for the day, I hastily asked Meredith to help me by getting the CD out of the shopping bag and into the gift bag.
She came running into my room, clearly upset, emphatically questioning what I had been thinking! She went on to explain the only CD that I had bought was titled, “Who Needs Kids!” Her disapproval of my choice was obvious. She adored her teacher and knew her teacher not only loved her, but all of her students! She was not about to present such a distasteful gift to her!
Well now, with mascara in hand, I had limited time to get ready, an angry 7-year-old to comfort, and a bit of a panic attack, wondering to myself what had I been thinking!
Oh, the thoughts that crossed my mind in a matter of seconds!
I carefully perused the list of songs on several CDs before picking just the right one. I would have NEVER purposefully chosen a title like THAT for an elementary teacher with such a gentle and caring spirit.
Did I unintentionally grab the wrong thing?
Why would a Bible bookstore even carry something like that? Who Needs Kids? Was that supposed to be funny? It doesn’t even sound like Christmas.. Or Christian.
What was I going to do now? I didn’t have a gift for her celebration!
How did I let something like this happen?
Frantically, I ran down the hall to see what in the world I had purchased! As I eagerly seized the CD, I cautiously read the words out loud:
WHAT. CHILD. IS. THIS.
“What Child is This”…..not “Who Needs Kids!”
I was able to breathe a sigh of relief and finish getting ready with a smile after I assured Meredith we had the correct gift. She obviously had not been thinking of Christmas carols or the birth of our Savior when she read the title. To her, the title sounded a little sassy asking about who THAT child was, which translated to Who Needs Kids in her mind.
Sometimes in the Christmas crazy and chaos, we might want to sing or scream, “Who Needs Kids,” but when we pause and think about the real reason we celebrate this season, the gift of the Christ child, we know who needs Him. We all do! Our wonder in “What Child is This” brings us hope, brings us joy, brings us peace, brings us love, and ultimately brings us salvation. What a precious gift THIS CHILD is!
May we all be aware of who He is and the promise He brings during this Christmas season.
,
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)