Hide and Seek with a Magic Elf

Parents, if your child still believes in Santa, I want to caution you.  Don’t let their little eyes read this post.  I don’t want to ruin their Christmas. . . like I almost ruined Livvie’s.

Last year, Livvie got an Elf on the Shelf.  She knew several other little girls that had an elf, and had made a wish that Santa would send her an elf.  So, I looked high and low for an Elf on the Shelf, and finally found one at the Hallmark store in the local mall.  On December 10, 2009, Mr. Magic came to our house.  He hid in a different place every morning to see if Livvie could spot him, and occasionally made a big mess for her to clean up.  She left him snacks; he left her notes.  When Christmas was over, he went back to the North Pole.

Well, I guess on his trek to the North Pole, he got lost.  That translates to, I put him away and couldn’t remember where I put him.  Livvie was expecting him to come Saturday night, and I searched everywhere for him.  Cleaned out every closet in my house, and came up empty.  How do you lose something in less than 1000 square feet?!

Mr. Magic wrote Livvie a note on Saturday night.  It was a poem.  It explained how he was playing hide and seek and she should look for him.  That was brilliant on my part, if I must say so myself.  It got her in the game of looking for him without knowing that I’d just misplaced him.   We looked all day on Sunday and didn’t find him.  He wrote her another note on Sunday night.

Monday, we came from school.  She did her homework.  Then, we immediately began looking for Mr. Magic again.  Something kept telling me that he had to be in the top of my closet. . . but I’d looked there 3 times already!  I decided to give it one more shot, and hallelujah!  There he was, face to the wall, hiding on top of a shoebox.  Christmas saved!

Last night, I was praying and thanking God for helping me find Mr. Magic, when I suddenly received some divine perspective about Christmas.  Time to refocus.  I got really worked up about that lost elf.  I had my dad looking for him; Jonathan was coming over to look for him.  I had Livvie and Mikie and Livvie’s friend Hannah all playing the hide and seek game, and I was totally worried that Livvie’s Christmas would be ruined.  As I was praying last night, God said, “Megan, I’m glad you found the elf, but I gave you that little scare on purpose.  You need to teach Livvie that Christmas is not about Santa Claus and magic elves.  Christmas is about the birth of my son Jesus Christ who came to save the world.”

Slap!  Right across the face.  Message received.

Starting today, Christmas is plain and simple at my house.  It’s about Jesus, and that’s all.  I’m not to going stress over gifts, over money, over decorations.  I am redirecting my focus. . . and Livvie’s.

“And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts.” ~ 1 Chronicles 28:9

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