Last night I watched a story from the Elf on a Shelf Series. Chippey the Elf was sent to the home of a boy who no longer believed in Christmas. Chippey did everything he could think of to remind the boy of the joy of his past Christmases, old photos, decorations he had made, opening gifts, but nothing seemed to work. The young boy had stopped believing, and even ridiculed his family for their unwavering belief. The boy finally said to the Elf, “If you’re real, prove it. Fly or something so that I can believe!”

Christmas magnifies what’s in the heart. If you are in a good place, everything seems a bit brighter, a bit merrier. But if you are troubled in any way, Christmas can bring you even further down into the dark recesses of despair and hopelessness. Even believers in Christ who have seen God’s goodness in their past, can start to question their faith. If God is real, why are people sick, unemployed, lonely, forgotten? Why does my life look so different from what I had imagined it? Like the young boy, we challenge God to prove himself so that we may believe again, while all the time God is there on the shelf doing things all around us that we miss because of the blurred vision of discouragement and doubt.

When Chippey the Elf flew back to the North Pole, the boy noticed he was gone, and that something seemed not right, a strange void. Only then did he believe again and long for Chippey’s return. Unlike Chippey, God never leaves us, but when we remove him from our lives through disappointment, we too feel an emptiness, a void. Only when we return to him in total trust and faith beyond reason, will we believe again and experience the joy he brought us through the Christ child of Christmas. Reach out in childlike faith and embrace the wonder of this sacred season! Unto us, a child is given. Merry Christmas.