The holiday season is upon us. Everyone knows what this means for themselves personally, and for their families. For us, I would like to say we have a definite lift in our spirits. “It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” right? We hang up decorations, play and listen and sing Christmas music, and focus on getting gifts for friends, relatives, even co-workers. Even more importantly, the impact on the kids is enormous. In fact, I dare say that the response of children to the holiday spirit is the foundation of the whole thing anyway! Think of all the things we do for our kids during this time of year. We take them to Holidazzle, the Dayton’ s 8th floor display (a), visits to see Santa, and a myriad of holiday-themed events and parties. We make special food and treats readily available to them (b). And it all ramps up until either “8 crazy nights” of Hanukkah, Kwanza, or Christmas, and doesn’t really subside until after New Years.

Our family traditions have been implemented piece by piece as both carry-overs from our own childhoods but also as original things we are doing now that we have kids of our own. We have either cut a fresh Christmas tree at a local farm or picked one out at Pahl’s market depending on the weather – and the kids. We have an Advent Wreath and dedicate some time each Sunday evening lighting the candles and praying. A day of baking cookies and other treats will certainly take place soon. We continue to add holiday decorations around the home, including setting up the classic nativity scene, with the tradition of not placing the figurine of baby Jesus in the scene until sundown on Christmas eve.

And so, when we got the Fisher Price “Little People” Nativity Set, Evelyn became very attached with the “Little People” Baby Jesus. She carries him all around the house like teenagers carry around cell phones or iPods. She always has him with her.

Yesterday, she lost track of him. We were picking up toys before bedtime and she was picking up the other characters from the Nativity Set when she asked me, “Where’s my Baby Jesus?” We looked all over the house,  but could not instantly find him. I assured Evie that we would indeed find him eventually and she seemed relatively satisfied that this was a good bet (seeing that several toys go “missing” from time to time and eventually show back up). Later that evening after we had read a book or two, she said it again, “Where is Baby Jesus?” I just repeated the question back to her, “I know! Where is Baby Jesus? We couldn’t find him, could we?”

She paused and smiled at me. “Don’t worry, Daddy. Baby Jesus is here.” And then she went off to find another book.

Now, let me be clear for those folks out there that don’t know already, when I recite the Apostles Creed at church, I believe each and every word spoken – especially regarding the Holy Spirit. This was one of those moments in life that only serves to increase my faith and belief in the Spirit. My two-year-old didn’t throw a tantrum about missing her toy. Instead, she remained calm and reassured her daddy that all will be well, and that baby Jesus was indeed with us. Was she just being her typically-sweet self and repeating what her parents have told her before? Maybe. However, this interaction was marked with a conversational tone – not by a frantic hunt for a missing toy (c). And, this toy has become special to her in a way that demonstrates that she can trust her feelings about things as trivial as missing a toy.

If the occurrence was anything, it made me think about the true meaning of Christmas. It is a time to rediscover where/who Baby Jesus really is. It is a pretty big deal for Christians because, in the words of “O Holy Night,” Long lay the world in sin and error pining, ’til He appeared and the soul felt its worth. Without Baby Jesus, we have no true connection with God. We celebrate Advent because we are thrilled with anticipation of this connection. We celebrate Christmas because we are thrilled with His arrival among us. Gift giving, after the example of the Magi, marks the significance of it all in human terms. We give gifts out of gratitude – not obligation. The gratitude is not only for the divine grace of Christ’s birth, but for the grace we show each other every day.

So, Merry Christmas! Enjoy the season with friends, family, and I hope you too will find your Baby Jesus.

(a) To me, it will always be Dayton’s…and for the record, Macy’s needs to step it up a notch to even come close to being what Dayton’s once was.

(b) We just started trying out having a bowl of mixed nuts in the shell – a Pierson tradition. Evelyn likes the operation of shelling the nuts, the nutcracker, etc, but is taking her time liking the nuts as a snack. Not surprising.

(c) Trust me, frantic hunts for toys occur with regularity at this house, especially for Mickey Mouse.