THE CHRISTMAS HEART
It was the last day of school before Christmas vacation and all of Mrs Kimble's 5th grade class was so excited about getting out of school and celebrating Christmas soon.
They all went to a rural country school way out of town with lots of trees and hillsides all around them. In the Summer the whole class would take long hikes in the woods and eat thier lunches outside.
The snow had been falling all day. It started out in the morning as a light drizzle, but as the day went on, it turned into a heavy snowfall, casting a thick white blanket apon the grass.
The children could hardly contain themselves. They were constantly jumping out of thier seats and talking quite loudly, to look at the snow and talk about all the great gifts they were going to recieve for Christmas.
Mrs Kimble, although she loved Christmas very much, had a 5th grade class to run and had to try her best to contain the children. "Class, we must sit down and finish, I know you are all excited about Christmas vacation, but, we are not out of school yet."
She could see that she was'nt going to get much done with the class, so, she went around and started to ask the class what they has asked for....for Christmas. Everyone wanted everything ! Trenton, a boy of tall stature jumped to his feet and said "I'm getting a brand new motorized skateboard for Christmas"
Then came a boastful voice from the back of the room "That's nothing, I'm going to get a whole new stereo system, with suround-sound speakers and a built in DVD player for Christmas." "It'll be the talk of everyone."
Michelle then spoke up "My Mom and Dad are going to get me a beautiful Diamond necklace and earring set." "Clothes, I want lots of clothes" Jennifer said excitedly. All the children were so busy telling Mrs Kimble what they wanted for Christmas, much to her surprise and a little disappointment, that they did'nt notice the snow falling even harder outside.
Susan sat quietly in the corner, not really talking, hoping no one would ask her what she was going to get for Christmas. You see, her Father, a Police officer, was killed in the line of duty when she was 9. Her Mother was a good woman, who struggled to make ends meet for her and her younger Brother and Sister. Times had been so tough and the insurance on a Police officer's salary was'nt really that great.
But, her Mom manged to make Christmas as memberable as she could. Just then an announcement came over the intercome "kids, this is Princaple Phillips, I'm afraid the roads have gotten very slick and the buses will be delayed." "I don't want to worry all of you, but, I'm afraid, unless the roads get better, it looks like we might be staying the night here."
The kids started to panic "What about Christmas?" "What about all our presents and our Moms and Dads ?" "What are we going to do ?" "We have all this turkey and stuff that we bought to eat, what about that ? " Mrs Kimble knew this did'nt look good, so she tryed to get the class to calm down and think about other things, to keep thier mind off of the weather.
She started with "Let's play a game, how many words can you make out of the word, Christmas ?" "And can you tell me a meaning for that word? " The kids started in with "Christ, then Star then Him and Is and finally mass. And, then it occured to Annie "Hey, you know what, all these words have to do with Jesus." "That's right," said Mrs Kimble, "is'nt that funny class?"
The class said "Yeah" and started to laugh. "Alright, now, let's come up with a definition to them." "First is Christ, what can we say about that?"
Christ: Last name of Jesus, as we know it.
Christ: The baby born to us on the 25th day of December to Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem.
Christ: God's only Son who came to take away our sins.
Christ: Visited by three kings who gave him gifts of gold, frankencense and mirr.
Star: The three wisemen followed the star to Jesus.
Star: Came from the North.
Star: shown brightly in the sky on that cold December night.
Star: Was God's sign that Jesus was born for us.
Star: lit up the manger.
Him: Baby Jesus was a him.
Him: Jesus's Earth parents were Mary and Joseph.
Him: Jesus's Heavenly Father is God.
Him: Jesus was born to teach us about God.
Him: was called the "Lamb of God"
Him: We celebrate Jesus's Birthday every Christmas.
Is: Christmas is the 25th of December and also Jesus's Birthday.
Is: Jesus is our Savior.
Is: Christmas is a time for loving and caring.
Is: Christmas is a time for family and friends.
Is: Christmas is gifts given from the heart.
Is: Christmas is magical.
Is: Is pretty with all the lights and snow.
Mass: We go to Mass to learn about God.
Mass: A beautiful building.
Mass: You can show love and spirit there.
Mass: Where everyone gathers to praise God.
Mass: We can sing in mass
Mass: the first masses were not in a building.
Mass: A spiritual gathering of hearts.
Mrs Kimble was impressed. She said "children, Christmas is not about toys or money, it's about love of each other." It's about coming together, as a group to share and help out one another." It's about friends and family that you miss and can't wait to see again." "And, most of all, it's about Jesus and why he came and what he has given us, for free."
"Don't be upset class, so many people forget the true reason why Christmas is celabrated every year."
Tonight, think about what you really want for Christmas and I will bet that God (and Santa) will give it to you." she said with a smile.
Another anoucement came over the intercome "children, the snow has let up and we can all go home now." The children were ecstatic as they raced out the door to meet thier parents and have the BEST Christmas ever, totally forgetting about what they had said they wanted for Christmas and thinking only about what they had already gotten instead.
Mrs Kimble, away from her family, smiled sweetly as the children ran out of school, knowing that she had done a good thing but missing her own family something aweful herself.
The next morning, Christmas Eve, she was greeted by a card at her door that read....
"Dear Mrs Kimble, thank you for teaching our children what the love of a teacher can do for them and also for why we really celebrate Christmas." Inside the card was plane tickets from the whole class, so that she could go back to see her own family.
Merry Christmas Everyone!