Harley is the quintessential BOY—rough and tumble, fall down, get up and don’t complain or cry. He’s a hard worker with a sweet disposition and the best of intentions.

 

Three years ago, someone who loves Harley a lot saw to it that Santa mailed him a personal letter right before Christmas. Here’s the accounting of that letter’s delivery and reading:

 

Loved, loved, loved Santa’s letter to Harley…our lovable little SPIDERMAN ON STEROIDS. His kindergarten teacher uses the green, yellow, orange and red system and Harley’s had a colorful year so far.

 

His letter from Santa arrived today. His big sister Kendall is one of the best readers in first grade so she read the letter aloud to him, their mom and Honey (grandma)

 

When she read, “I hear you have been exceptionally good this year, Harley,” she stopped, looked up at her mom and said, “WHAT”????

 

Then she read, “I hear you have been really good this year especially in your kindergarten class…Mrs. Claus & I are very proud…keep up the good work”. She paused again and said, “WHAT”????

 

This was repeated two or three more times…and we’ve laughed all evening.

 

Harley just stood there grinning from ear to ear…as grace rained down…thankful, no doubt, to hear what a good boy Santa thought he’d been.

 

Kendall was rightfully perplexed—it can be awfully confusing when we know the other person’s back story, and God still rains down his amazing grace—in spite of it all.

 

 

“You have heard the law that says,

 

‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.

 

But I say, love your enemies!

 

Pray for those who persecute you!

 

In that way,

 

you will be acting as true children

 

of your Father in heaven.

 

For he gives his sunlight

 

to both the evil and the good,

 

and he sends rain on the just

 

and the unjust alike.

 

Matthew 5:43-45

 

Lamby Lou left the Old Williamsburg gift shop and moved to Texas before Faith Cora was even born. We grown-ups initially thought she was just an exceptionally soft cuddly toy—but as Faith grew, so did Lamby’s persona and family stature.

 

Eventually you rarely saw one without the other: FaithCora&LambyLou. Lamby Lou took the fall for Faith Cora’s misdeeds on several occasions—the first being when she uprooted several indoor potted plants. The most traumatic consequence of that experience was that Lamby had to have her first bath; and what might seem like short wash and dry cycles to one can be unbearably long to another.

 

Various family members have been willing to retrace many miles, particularly at bedtime, to retrieve an accidentally left-behind lamb. It was never much fun to have a sleepover with Faith Cora, if Lamby didn’t come too. We’d begin by rationally discussing and reasonably agreeing that Mama Jan had a Lamby at her house and Faith could sleep with Mama Jan’s Lamby. But what’s an agreeable substitute in the sunshine hours loses its agreeability in direct proportion to the setting sun.

 

Lamby Lou is well-traveled and has participated in many adventures, but there are still some experiences she hasn’t had; and I was informed of one of those a few weeks ago.

 

One of our family traditions is that sometime around Thanksgiving weekend everyone selects a Hallmark Christmas ornament for the tree; and I thought when the kids married, they’d take their ornaments to their own trees, but I was wrong. Turned out the “rule” is that those stay on my tree. This is a fun tradition and in the early years, I’d fill in the empty spaces not taken up by the special ornaments. Those days are long past—our collection has grown exponentially, everyone has an individual tote box in the attic, and every year I need a bigger tree than last.

 

It’s nearly always a family outing when we “go get our ornaments” and this year was no different. Faith, Abe, April and I followed the same pattern as always: examine every ornament multiple times, discuss what best reflects the year, make a choice, and then change your mind. It could be exhausting to some people, but we persevere.

 

We looked at all the “Baby’s First Christmas” ornaments for Abe and when I pointed out the Little Lamb to Faith Cora—she was immediately smitten. She turned full-face and body toward me, then quietly and reverently, with hopeful expectation, told me, “Lamby doesn’t have a Christmas ornament.”

 

Well…children and lambs are both important. Straight from the Lamb of God:

 

 

He called a little child to him,

 

and placed the child among them.

 

And he said:

 

“Truly I tell you,

 

unless you change

 

and become like little children,

 

you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

 

Therefore, whoever takes

 

the lowly position of this child

 

is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

 

And whoever welcomes

 

one such child in my name

 

welcomes me.

 

Matthew 18:2-5

…………………..

So when they had finished breakfast,

 

Jesus said to Simon Peter,

 

“Simon, son of John,

 

do you love me more than these?”

 

He said to him,

 

“Yes, Lord; You know that I love you “

 

He said to him, “Tend my lambs.”

 

John 21:15