Don’t Let Anyone Ever Dull Your Sparkle (Advent Day 3)

One of my favorite phrases is “don’t let anyone ever dull your sparkle.”

Factoid number two: I’m a sucker for a good children’s book, and even more so for a Christmas-themed one. So when I saw The Sparkle Box at the Scholastic book fair at my kids’ school, I pounced on it. (Incidentally, one of my favorite sites, Modern Mrs. Darcy suggests a literary Advent calendar of children’s books-heck, you can even wrap the books and have them choose which one to read each night! Why didn’t I think of that?)

The Sparkle Box is expertly illustrated, but it stands out for its extraordinary message. Sam is eager for Christmas, but one gift in particular has him puzzled. It’s a sparkling silver box on the mantle. His parents tell him that they will open it together, but only after they fill it. As they give generously and sacrificially during the Advent season, the box gets filled. And on Christmas morning, they open the box to find the true meaning of Christmas. (No spoilers here-you just have to read the book to find out!)

As an added bonus, each book contains an actual Sparkle Box that you can pull out, place a bow on, and voila–you are ready. Last year, we used the book as a springboard for a Sunday School lesson–for adults! Our class collected a Sparkle Box offering that day, brainstormed ideas of what charities or causes we could support, and donated the money raised to the local food pantry for Thanksgiving turkeys. It’s amazing what you can do when you put your heads together!

“It only takes a spark to get a fire going…”

A similar sentiment can be found in How the Grinch Stole Christmas:

 Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. 

Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more!

Christmas Day is in our grasp
So long as we have hands to grasp.

Christmas Day will always be
Just as long as we have we.

Welcome Christmas while we stand
Heart to heart and hand in hand.”

The Grinchy Reality:

I’m late posting today because when I got home, I heard news about another mass shooting in San Bernardino, California. I’m tired of the violence and the anger and hatred. Sick of hearing about people like ISIS and a maniac who kills at Planned Parenthood. These gutless, heartless evildoers don’t deserve the attention they get. I can’t hear too much about it or it threatens to dull mine and everyone else’s sparkle.

I want to hear about the heros, the angels, the people who strive to do good every single day. The peacemakers and the helpers. Those are the ones who deserve all the praise and spotlight. Their lights are the beacons in this world we need to follow and emulate. I want us ALL to stand heart to heart and hand in hand. That may not be a reality, but I can still wish for it.

And there’s no better song that expresses this sentiment than “Grown-Up Christmas List.” Listen to it or just read the words.

Do you remember me?
I sat upon your knee
I wrote to you with childhood fantasies
Well, I’m all grown-up now
Can you still help somehow?
I’m not a child, but my heart still can dream
So here’s my lifelong wish
My grown-up Christmas list
Not for myself, but for a world in need

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
Every man would have a friend
That right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown-up Christmas list

What is this illusion called the innocence of youth?

Maybe only in that blind belief can we ever find the truth

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal our hearts
Every man would have a friend
That right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown-up Christmas list
This is my only lifelong wish
This is my grown-up Christmas list”