Let Them Be Little

Christmas is just around the corner and I’m so not ready!!

There are too many things I have got to get done and not enough time to do them all. 

And, to top it all off, we have family coming in this weekend because my 7 year old is being baptized.  While we are very excited, we are also looking at having a major clean house until midnight kind of Friday!

So as I was getting ready for my day, I was going through the list in my head of things that needed to be done and one still sticks out like a sore thumb; the Christmas Tree.

My tree is nice, don’t get me wrong.  But the funny thing is, the ornaments are all in one spot.  The kids’ eye level and not any higher.  They could not wait to get the ornaments on there….I had ribbon and a “themed plan” and they were dancing around putting the ornaments on the tree with Brenda Lee’s “Rocking Around The Christmas Tree” and other Christmas favorites playing in the background.

Oh, and last night, they were decorating the bannister with paper chains and snowflakes, all cut from construction paper.  “Look, mommy, it’s just like Buddy the elf,” they said. (From “Elf” the movie)  “Oh, I see,” I said…secretly thinking that will all come down by Saturday nwhen everyone gets here.

My husband and I are more the organized sort of people.  I used to host a tree trimming party and have our friends over to help us decorate the tree.  It was fun and  I always served dinner afterwards.  Then, the kids were born and we stopped having those parties and having the kids birthday parties because they both were born close to Christmastime. The ornaments were still my responsibility and I loved being able to get out certain ones and put them on the way I wanted them.  Then, when I was asleep, my husband would re-arrange them to be more symmetrical…a trait that I figure is a little OCD.  No matter, the tree looked better.

So as I was looking at that tree thinking my hubby said he would put that ribbon on it and get those ornaments spread out, my mind went to this Scripture:

Matthew 18:3 (The Message)

 

 ^2-5For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, “I’m telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you’re not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God’s kingdom. What’s more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it’s the same as receiving me. “

Whoa!  Hold up!  I’m childlike!  I love snowflakes and hot cocoa with marshmallows.  Nope, that is not what this is saying.

It means I need to let my kids be little and enjoy the season and the reason for it in the way that they see it.  Not try to rearrange their perception of the tree or even the nativity story.  I need to learn about God though their eyes.

How often do I correct my children when it is not needed?  I don’t mean the grammar when they use poor tenses of verbs, but the manner in which they do things.  I need to be less rigid and let a little more childlike in….And I need to lighten up on them.

My mind also goes to that song Richie McDonald wrote with Billy Dean, “Let Them Be Little.”

“Let Them Be Little, cause they’re only that way for a while,
Give them hope, give them praise, give them love everyday,
Let them cry, let them giggle, let them sleep in the middle,
Oh, just let them be little.”

So tonight as they continue decorating the house with paper chains and snowflakes or doing a manger scene with a lion and a rabbit in the mix, I need to just let them. And remember the real reason for the season is not to stress out but to reflect as my kids do on who God is and how we can celebrate His son’s gift to us.