Working in my office the other morning, I heard some rattling noises on the other side of the house. Being as busy as I was, I didn't take the time to find out what that noise was all about. When I'm working on a project, I like to stay on the project.

It was around lunchtime, and I was still hearing that noise. I decided to go into the kitchen and see what we were having for lunch, and as I did so, I noticed The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage was in the living room setting up our Christmas tree.

She does this every year and is very good at it. Each year, she gets a new Jingle Bell and puts it near the top of the tree.

If Santa Claus was real (and I do not believe what my parents said about him), he would immediately recruit her to organize his Christmas. She could make his job so much easier.

I'm sure Santa Claus would be very grateful for all the work she could do for him. Of course, he would have to listen to her and do exactly what she says, or we would probably never see Santa Claus again.

I think he is so old that he would listen to her and do exactly what she says because he has done this work so long that he's just about worn out.

Sometimes, I think it would be really nice if there was a Santa Claus. Every year my parents would take me downtown where Santa Claus was, and I would sit on Santa's lap and tell him what I wanted for Christmas. I assured him I was a very good boy during the year.

The older I got the more suspicious I got of this man called Santa Claus. If he was real, he sure wasn't real to me.

Every year, as far as I can remember, I sat on his lap and told him that I wanted a pony for Christmas and nothing more. He always went through his "ho ho ho" act and I believed he was going to do it for me.

I remember getting up on Christmas day and running into the living room, where my parents had their Christmas tree surrounded by all the Christmas gifts. I looked around the tree then I got up and went to the back porch, looked out, and shouted to my parents, "Where is he? I can't see him."

Of course, my parents would say, “What you're talking about,” and I always responded by saying, "Santa Claus promised me that he was going to bring me a pony. Now, where is that pony?"

The older I got, the more sophisticated my parents' response to that question was. Usually, it was something like, "Santa might have run out of ponies this year, so you'll have to wait until next year, and I'm sure he'll bring one next year."

Christmas went by, and another Christmas went by, and another Christmas went by, and there was no sign of any pony with my name on it.

My parents were rather disappointed when I discovered that they had been lying to me all these years and there was no such thing as a Santa Claus. Santa Claus was just a character somebody made up.

I remember the last time I sat on Santa Claus's lap, I was 12 years old. By the time the next Christmas came around, I had turned 13, and I was now a teenager. As a teenager, I knew everything, and nobody could talk to me about anything.

I remember the conversation I had with my parents. I explained to them that there is no such thing as a Santa Claus, and then I asked them why they had lied to me all those years.

"I'm sorry, son," my mother said. “Everyone was saying that, so we joined the crowd. We just wanted you to have a wonderful Christmas."

So Santa Claus is not a real person. If he were, why do I have to spend so much money on Christmas presents?

I was thinking about this as I was eating lunch. There, the Christmas tree was in the process of being put together for Christmas. One of the routines at Christmas time was to buy a brand-new jingle Bell, usually at her favorite thrift store. As I was looking at the Christmas tree, I noticed there was a space near the top of the tree, but no jingle bell.

I looked at my wife and said, "My Dear, where is the new jingle Bell and why is there a big space on top of the Christmas tree?"

"I guess you never pay attention to what's going on around here, do you?" Then she laughed a good, merry laugh. "I cannot put the new jingle Bell on until the night before Christmas. That has been our tradition for many years, in case you haven't noticed. That space near the top of the tree is where the new jingle Bell goes this year."

I sure do love it when a plan comes together, even if it's not my plan.

A verse of scripture came to mind, 2 Thessalonians 2:15, “Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.”

Traditions are important, especially those grounded on the Word of God

Dr. James L. Snyder, is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road, Ocala, FL 34472. He lives with his wife in Silver Springs Shores. James is an award winning author whose books are available at https://amzn.to/2SMOjwO.

Call him at 352-687-4240 or e-mail [email protected]. The church web site is www.whatafellowship.com.