Hung up our green elf “Hider” today – a blessed memory I cherish 8 years now. It brings tears to my eyes remembering…  I love my big son, 19 now, and I miss the little boy of course… so blessed at this memory…

Yes My Elf on the Shelf, There is a Real Jesus, 30 NOV2015

It’s quite often lately that I bump into a conversation about God and Jesus – and tonight I have to pause to tell you that I got to share the REAL meaning of Christmas with one of the most important people in my life – my son.  My son IS my elf on the shelf – my director of activities, my wisdom-speaking genius – the most thoughtful kid ever known to man.  He is my baby boy, 11yrs old now, – he and my daughter are my joys – they are my purpose, they make me a mom, my job is to raise them. 

And tonight, over a conversation about an elf on the shelf I witnessed a miracle after I told of a miracle…  See, we are Jesus’s purpose – He came to help us know and tell of HIS mission in life – HIS purpose – and that is connecting us to GOD forever – yes, to give us eternal life, in the home of OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN… over the course of a couple years, Jesus caused a change in me in stages and Jesus is the One who is helping me help others find their way to our true Father. It means I have to be bold and challenge myself to act and speak in truth. 

SO – elf – my elf is adorable, 11 years old, a thinker – a gentle and sensitive soul .. he can explain a sunday school bible lesson to me better than anyone after hearing it just once – he takes it to his heart – he truly believes in Jesus and God.  But as any eleven year old – he still needs training – he still needs guidance – he is still a product of our society robbing children of their child-like wonder and making them grow up too fast.  

My elf wanted to clean (yeah unheard of), he wanted to clean the living room area so that we could start our Christ-mas village and especially the nativity scene and he wanted his robotic dinosaur to be looking at the baby Jesus. He patiently waited for me to get off the phone – and sure, it was a very important phone call, but he was waiting and he is much more important than anything else swirling in my life right now.  So yes, I shut my phone off and refocused all my attention to him – I only have my little ones for a few more years – and I need to focus – my plans are secondary….  God will put me where HE wants me, and not where he doesn’t, and I am not sad at other lost opportunities because God’s plans are MUCH better than mine.

So, my adorable elf paused after setting the baby Jesus into the manger scene and then he asked the age old question – “Mom, people say Santa is your parents – and people say your parents move the elf on the shelf”  – pause – pregnant poignant pause –  what is mom going to say – “Well…  what do YOU think?”  He answers that “I think Santa is God and Jesus and the presents drop from heaven” – pregnant pause – but I of course felt blessedly empowered to explain this: “Well, that is a great thought, but why did God send Jesus to us? – it wasn’t for toys and presents – so why is Jesus God’s present to us? ”  – my son says “to give us forgiveness for our sins” – “Yes, but why did Jesus have to forgive us”  – “Ummm…”  – it is now that I know my mission is to teach why – “Jesus was a gift from God to us – to forgive us from our sins so that …., why?”  – “Ummm…” – “Jesus wants us to have ETERNAL —-”  – – – “LIFE!”  he finished my sentence… Yes! – I knew that bible lesson was in that 11 year old head somewhere – and I hope and pray it stays in his heart and grows there –  “Jesus came to save US by forgiveness to give US ETERNAL LIFE with God in Heaven”  – silence – pause – thinking – processing… And absorbing ones faith takes time – takes repetiion – takes teaching but most importantly reaching and nourishing conversations to achieve understanding that Jesus IS REAL…

“So Mom – what about the elf on the shelf – can you tell me if parents move him?”….   Ok – time to come clean – I know that it is important to tell the truth and so I said: “Yes – your parents move your elf” – silence – pause – thinking – processing…

See…  our elf was not intended to be that elf on the shelf- he is a GREEN elf – an ornament from the 40’s? 50’s?  well before this “elf that moves” myth started and I was not too pleased to hear the hoopla about it – sorry folks who have fun – but it’s quite a feat to generate even more work for yourself moving it, just due to a successful movie etc – yeah i wasn’t going to buy into it…  but my then 9 year old wide-eyed and precious boy discovers this ornament in the box and declares that we have an elf on the shelf – and thank you God he didn’t know that the elf moved every day because neither did I – whew!

At the end of that first Christmas with the elf, he was safely whisked away to Santa land at the end of the season – and my then ten year old waited patiently for his return…  Ummm…  where did he go?… Ummm – “Hider” – my son is named him “Hider” – lost – hmmm…  now what – – oh dear – and I looked and I looked – and Hider was in the safest spot to keep him – and he was so safe that i forgot where he was…  rats…  crushed hopes for a patient young soul… So my son writes him a note – about how he is the best hider in the world and how much he loves him – sigh…  mom has failed – mom never wanted this myth anyway and now mom is caught in the middle of a sad boy longing for his elf…  

Sigh…  tonight – tonight I came clean with him about Santa, elves – a natural progression of an eleven year old’s questioning – but before that it was first the MOST important conversation about God I have had this year – reinforcing that God sent Jesus to be real – to be real for each and everyone of us. So, now in peace that I came clean about the elf and that I shared the Good News, it was THEN I saw this random tin can – I don’t know why I picked it up – I felt something draw me to that can – and poof – there he was – “Hider” – our elf – over two years LOST – LOST I tell you – and poof – within three minutes of sharing Jesus – of knocking that elf myth down a notch – there he was – Hider – hidden in that can for two years…  my son hugged Hider and said: “I am going to put him in the nativity – he is going to watch baby Jesus for us” – yeah – my tears – “YES MY Elf on the Shelf, there is a REAL Jesus.”

There is no better blessing than to witness Jesus being born everyday in people – especially your own children… See, Jesus is often born in stages – only enough understanding each time that that indivudual can process at that very moment…  And so yeah – Jesus is this miracle gift – I understand this in JOY and tonight in tears, when I was stilled by God.

I thank YOU God for YOUR hand on my life – on my thoughts – on my family – guiding me everyday is a miracle because God IS REAL – Jesus is REAL – trust me – I know this – I just do – I really really do…  

Jesus came to save YOU – to save us – in order to reach us into God’s eternal life – in order for US to reach the others – we can preach all we want and plan all we want, but if we aren’t REACHING the others near and far then we have more work to do – and our Father wants us to work at it – and He will reward us when we do – it’s not silly – it’s just God watching me and knowing me – knowing how to reach me – thanks God…

Thank you God for reaching me today – I long to work for YOU always…

Your loving child,
Me