Santa needs some trust

Jesus, help me trust that this will be a great Christmas. Amen -- and Merry Christmas!

Before Jesus was born, Mary went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who was also going to have a baby. When Mary said hello, Elizabeth's baby jumped for joy inside her. Excited, Elizabeth shouted, "You're blessed for trusting God's promise to send you a son, Jesus!"

Trust is a big thing at Christmas. You trust that, if you're good, Santa will leave something under the Christmas tree for you -- but there's always a little bit of fear that he might forget! You just tell yourself to keep believing that Santa will stop at your house.

Trust isn't a new idea. This week's Gospel (Luke 1:39-45) takes place before the very first Christmas, when Jesus was born. In the Gospel story, Mary and Elizabeth talk about trust -- in their case, trust in God.

When you wrote a Christmas list or a letter to Santa, you probably wondered if you'd get the things you really wanted. If you can remember past Christmases, you probably know that, even if you didn't get everything on your list (and you probably didn't), there was still something under the tree for you on Christmas morning!

Things didn't come out exactly the way Mary and Elizabeth expected, either. Elizabeth had a baby when she was older, and Mary was very young and scared when she found out she'd be the mother of God.

But the gifts God gave them turned out to be exactly right for them -- and the same will happen for you at Christmas.

Trust is still important; Santa knows what's good for you to have, just like God knew what was right for Mary and Elizabeth.

On the first Christmas, Jesus was the big present, and He was a perfect one. Trust that whatever is under your Christmas tree will be perfect for you!