My Christmas Thought for 12252016: Happiness in the Eyes of a Child

"Every child you encounter is a divine appointment." 

— Wess Stafford, President Emeritus of Compassion International

Whenever I feel down, which isn't often, I can always find my happy place in the eyes of a child.  I can be standing in line at Walmart and there will be a child in a basket that just won't stop looking at me.  Before you know it I'm in a one way conversation with this little shit, they're winning, and the mother is smiling.  Anyone who knows me knows I have a soft place for kids, one reason why I can never work at a children's hospital - losing one would tear me up emotionally.  Luckily, in my position as chaplain at the medical center, the occasion has never arisen.

Christmas is all about the birth of our Lord, Jesus of Nazareth; the Christ Child, the anointed one of God - the Messiah.  Jesus is the reason for the season, so it is no surprise that we celebrate our own children by the giving of presents as inspired by the story of the three magi, the wise men.  I think it is important to remember that all children are born, like Jesus, without sin.  Why would we possibly expect beautiful gifts from God to be tainted?  And why then, knowing the purity God bestowed upon our offspring, would we intentionally taint them?  It makes little sense, yet we see it happen all the time; a slight toward our God.  How dare we?

Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.

-- Psalm 127: 3

But even the most faithful of us seem to have fallen prey to overindulgence in the material aspect of this holy day.  We sacrifice the reason for the season on the altar of mammon.  We spend untold millions of dollars each year to quench the thirst of children we have spoiled, to the point of abuse, instead of feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless, which would be a gift of reality most of our children are sorely in need of.

When I was feeding homeless families in Olympia, Washington, I came face to face with Ignorance and Want, "and all of their degree."  I remembered a well-read part of A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, the children hiding under the spirit's robe in particular, "They were a boy and a girl. Yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish; but prostrate, too, in their humility. Where graceful youth should have filled their features out, and touched them with its freshest tints, a stale and shrivelled hand, like that of age, had pinched, and twisted them, and pulled them into shreds. Where angels might have sat enthroned, devils lurked, and glared out menacing. No change, no degradation, no perversion of humanity, in any grade, through all the mysteries of wonderful creation, has monsters half so horrible and dread."

And then, I would offer them an apple, or other a piece of fruit, scorned by most children in favor of the odd piece of candy. These, however, would look up, with longing eyes, to their mother who would nod approval. When they looked back their eyes would sparkle, any sign of Dickens' children in the story would, for a moment, be lost.

"A child is a beam of sunlight from the Infinite and Eternal, with possibilities of virtue and vice, but as yet unstained."

-- Lyman Abbott, American Congregationalist minister

I found myself returning, many times, to help feed these needy folks.  A few of my early posts were based on these visits.  I so looked forward, selfishly, to seeing the faces of children brighten at the smallest offering.  I came to realize what I had long forgotten - this is what children do.  They find a smile in the midst of misery.  They teach us how to accept fate in children's cancer wards, and how to overcome birth defects, loss of limbs and mobility.  They remind us that, given the opportunity, they are so much better than we are when we are older and have so much more.  They can find happiness in the face of adversity, with the simplest of gifts.  Children are truly our gifts from God.

"Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven."

-- Henry Ward Beecher, reverend and social activist

Christmas seems to have become one day in the year where we celebrate our children, or each other, yet we seem to have relegated the reason for the season to an afterthought, if we think of it at all.  I think it would benefit all of us to purchase one gift for a child, to memorialize the magi, then take the child to a shelter and teach them what need is all about.  Don't worry, they will understand better than you.  It is a Christmas tradition I wish I had celebrated years ago, and will continue to celebrate each year.

Christmas, as we all know, is about giving, not receiving, and we need to consider who really needs and what it is they really need.  This could be an opportunity to plant a seed of social responsibility in your own child or other family members.  Will they balk at the idea?  Well, how much of a role model have you been?  Maybe you're thinking about this question much too long...

The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.

-- Denis Waitley, motivational author

Our children outgrow us and leave to have lives of their own.  Much of what they remember of family times will revolve around holidays together.  Each holiday is a day you will never have again with your child, each day is a day that, when over, can never be relived.  Soon, they will be older and, hopefully, wiser.  How wise they become as adults relies, in no small part, on the wisdom we impart to them while they are children.

I hope to, each day, look into the bright, sparkling eyes of a child.  It is selfish of me as I do it to make myself happy on those rare moments when I might feel down.  We should celebrate our children daily.  We should look into their eyes knowing we are the reason for the sparkle.  Everyday should be Christmas.  Everyday should be celebrated and, when we are gone, everyday should be remembered by our children as a gift from God to be cherished!

You will never have this day again with your children, tomorrow they will be older, the days you have with your Children are a gift. Relish and cherish the charms of the presence each and every day!

-- Andrew Guzaldo, writer

Our 35th president, John F. Kennedy, once said, "Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see."  This Christmas and New Year, let us vow to pay attention to the messages we send forward.  Happiness, and our future, can be found in the eyes of a child.  Make it sparkle!

I wish you all the merriest of Christmas holidays.  Enjoy family and friends, and don't forget to tell them how much they mean to you.  Tell them every day, each time you see them, as if each day is your last.

“Your children are the greatest gift God will give to you, and their souls the heaviest responsibility He will place in your hands. Take time with them, teach them to have faith in God. Be a person in whom they can have faith. When you are old, nothing else you've done will have mattered as much.”

-- Lisa Wingate, columnist, author

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

stor Tony spent 23 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to the intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, in the guise of the Congregation's official, online, Pablog, "The Path," of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead chaplain at a regional medical center.