Articles

 Brevard County Woman is proud to bring you one of our stories for Dec 2010

The Preciousness of Children                                                                                    By Toni Allen

      When you think back on your memories of past holidays, there is a good chance that many of those memories include or revolve around children – carols sung by angelic faces, letters written in anticipation to Santa, Christmas plays, and sweet dreams of Christmas morning. We all have those reflections of ourselves as children, or of our own children and grandchildren that bring us the ever-welcomed joy and warm fuzzies of  the season.
      It is easy to be caught up in the traditions and accompanying feelings of the holidays and so we do what is needed and respond appropriately to ensure that this time of year is how we want it … how we remember it. In a sense, we mold the future holidays of our own children with this diligence, just as our parents  had done for us. It is also easy after the determined  date on the calendar arrives and then disappears that  we quickly slip away from relishing the preciousness  of children. Unfortunately with this inevitability, some of us, some of the time, can miss out on the joys that children can bring.
      The holidays can truly be a magical time for children. When I was a child, the magic included great gatherings with family at Thanksgiving, two weeks with no school, wrapping gifts, helping my mom bake colorful and scrumptious goodies, and special family times on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I still carry those memories with me and bring them out every year.
      My father led our church choir in celebratory cantatas, which I watched wide-eyed and listened to intently in order to retrieve the message so melodically being relayed. I was taught at a very young age, along with my sister and brother, that what truly mattered was the loving and giving.  As a six year old though, it was amazing to me that one could receive so many gifts as depicted in The Twelve Days of Christmas simply out of love. Having gifts to open on Christmas morning was, and still is, fun especially for the children. But the truth that I learned very early on and has stuck with me through all these years is that is isn’t about the “stuff.”
      Some years ago, my husband and I had our own children. We took on the tasks of finding ways to make their holidays magical and conveying the true meaning. I wanted my boys to see with their own eyes how love and respect can keep family together and values strong. But isn’t that what we want to teach all year long?
      Children do their part in this learning process because they begin life with complete innocence and they begin growing their personalities and principles as they interact with others, most importantly their parents or care-givers. Just as we rely on some form of schooling system to feed their intellect, we should give as much attention to feeding our children’s emotional, psychological and spiritual well-being. We spend a lot of time contemplating and deciding on presents to go under the Christmas tree for the little ones. We would be well-served to spend as much time on giving the gifts all year long that will benefit them even more.
      We tend to forget when our little one wets the bed or drops a toy on the floor instead of putting it up that they are just beginning their training to become an adult. We have reasoning to depend on, having already gone through the training ourselves. But they are in the very earliest stages of transformation. High expectations can be hard and even crippling on children and bring unwarranted disappointment to us as parents.
      My wish for you this holiday season and this year is to remember that children are one more chance for us to see and feel the beauty of innocence. Since you still have the chance, teach them benevolence rather than intolerance; show them contentment rather than anger; impart to them the love of beauty rather than indulgence in the things that are just “stuff” in our world. And remember before you know it, they will no longer be your protégé but instead will be the walking, breathing product of your efforts.
      You will no doubt experience the preciousness of children somehow this holiday season. But remember that all year long "They are precious in his sight" and should be in yours.