Wart Family Christmas 2022

Little Angelina snuggled closer to Mama Wart as they both stared in wonder at the sight before them.

“I’m scared, Mama.” Angelina whispered with a trembling voice.

Mama pulled her close. “Oh, sweetie, there is no need to be afraid!” But Mama had to admit to herself that she was feeling just a bit of anxiety herself. Their whole world was enveloped in fog. They could barely see the street below their balcony home. Mama had never in her life seen fog here. It looked as eerie as it felt.

“But Mama, what is it? Will it take us away and we will never come back?”

“No, no, baby, not at all. It’s only fog. It can’t hurt you. Soon the sun will come out and chase it all away. Don’t worry. We will be just fine.” Mama pulled her daughter closer and gave her another squeeze.

Just then Papa Wart and Angelina’s two brothers, Hiram and Harold, pushed in close and the whole family just sat in silence looking at a world they could barely see. Angelina looked up at her Papa, the wisest person in her whole world. “Papa, what is fog?”

Papa smiled at her. Such an inquisitive little thing. She was always filled with questions. It was one of the things he loved most about her. “Little girl, I am not sure I could explain it to you if I tried, but maybe if you think of it this way, it will help you understand a little bit. You’ve seen rain, right?” He looked at Angelina as she nodded her head. “And I know you haven’t seen snow, but Mama has told you stories about it and showed you pictures, right?” Again she nodded enthusiastically. “Well, fog is just another way that the sky lets us know its up there. We can’t really see the air around us, but its always there. And sometimes it fills up with something to show itself to us.”

Mama watched Angelina’s face fill with understanding and gave her husband a grateful look. Papa continued speaking quietly.

“You know, looking at the fog reminds me something. I know that Mama is the one who always has a story to tell, but today, would you all mind if I share a little story of my own?” His family looked at him with expectation and he was moved by the swell of love he felt for all of them. He especially liked the look on Mama’s face as she gazed into his eyes with look of pride. He took a deep breath and began.

“There’s a place in the Bible that talks about love and about how we learn more about love as we grow older. You kids know what love is, but as the years go by, you will realize that love is so much more than you can even imagine. In 1 Corinthians 13, the Bible says that until we fully know God, we will see the world like we are surrounded by fog, just like we are right now. But the good news is, it won’t be long before the sun will chase away that fog, just like Mama said earlier, and then we will be able to everything clearly, just the way that God sees us clearly. And as we see more clearly, we will find ourselves seeing God for who He really is—Our Creator, who loves us and knows us better than anyone else!”

Angelina was listening intently as she stared up at Papa, her faced all scrunched up as if she was trying very hard to understand the meaning of his words. Suddenly her face lit up as if she could not contain the understanding that flooded her little brain. “Oh my goodness, Papa! And Jesus is all about that love, right Papa? I remember last Christmas when Mama told us the story of why baby Jesus was born, about how it was because God loved us so much. Right Papa?”

Mama and Papa shared a glance as their hearts swelled with love for this child who was so eager to learn and so quick to accept truth by faith. They both knew they were literally watching the fog begin to clear from their daughter’s world.

Papa leaned in close to Angelina. “That is exactly, right, my sweet girl, exactly right.”

Just then Hiram said, “Hey look, everybody, here comes the sun! The fog is starting to fade away!”

Mama’s heart was full as she looked at her little family and said, “Fog has never been able to hide The Son.”

Papa began to sing and his strong deep voice floated through the lifting fog:

“It came upon a midnight clear, that glorious song of old.
While angels bending near the earth, to touch their harps of gold.
Peace on the earth, goodwill to men from Heaven’s all gracious King.
The world in solemn stillness lay to hear the angels sing.”