Naughty or Nice?

In every town around the world, children were thinking about Santa’s list,

Am I naughty or nice?

And that year, Santa noticed something different in the letters he received.

Every letter he opened asked the same small, hurting questions:

“Santa… what exactly is naughty?”

“Am I bad?”

“I was loud today, does that make me unlovable?”

Santa felt his heart dip like a sleigh in heavy wind.

Santa stroked his beard as he read them. Some letters had tear stains. Some had crayon drawings of broken ornaments and spilled milk. One read:

“I’m not bad. I just forget things.”

Another said:

“I didn’t listen because I was excited.”

And another:

“I’m trying my best, but grown-ups keep changing the rules.”

Mrs. Claus touched his shoulder and said, “Children aren’t naughty, dear. They’re learning. It’s the grown-ups who make the rules… and forget how confusing they can be.”

So that Christmas Eve, Santa did something new.

He left gifts, yes, but also little silver notes that read:

“You’re growing.”

“You’re trying.”

“You are loved.”

“You are enough.”

“You are learning.”

“Mistakes and accidents don’t mean you are a failure.”

“There is no such thing as a naughty child.”

On Christmas morning , all across the world, parents found the notes as they sipped their coffee or rubbed sleep from their eyes. Some cried. Some smiled with a softness they hadn’t felt in years. Some knelt beside their children and whispered:

“You’re not naughty. You’re human. I am so proud of you.”

“We love you so much.”

“You are enough, exactly as you are.”

And all the children around the world slept a little better that night.

And from that night on, Santa wrote a new line at the bottom of his list:

“All children belong on the nice list. Always.”

Christmas #children #youareenough #truth #purpose