Last year on Christmas Eve, my son Grady and I pulled out the laptop to track Santa on the NORAD Santa Tracker. I had never done something like this before, so I did not know what to expect. Grady and I found Santa somewhere over Morocco, which led to a conversation about the world, where we live compared to Morocco, the large ocean that Santa will have to cross to get to us, etc. But before too long, Grady had run out of questions and was ready to settle down for the night. He fell asleep and Christmas came the next day.

I had not thought about the Santa tracker since Christmas Eve last year and figured it was one of those random things that we did once as a family and might not do again. However, I recently asked Grady about what his favorite things are about Christmas and he told me he loved tracking Santa on the computer last year. This surprised me greatly! He did not say presents, cookies, the tree, or any other such thing. He has not really said what about tracking Santa was so special to him, and I might not ever know, but I have begun to wonder if it is the hope that tracking Santa brings to the heart of a child. To Grady, seeing some satellite image on the computer is proof that Santa is coming – even if he is currently flying over another country across an ocean.

I have realized my hope in Christ is very similar Grady’s hope in Santa. As I look for things in life on which to build that hope, such as scripture and my relationships with other believers, I see that I am tracking Christ. These are the tangible aspects of the Christian life that bring hope to the heart of every child of God and remind us that Christ is coming and Christ is real.

A prayer from Grady: “Dear God, thank you for everything you do and let us be together. Amen.”