Jingle Bells

For as long as I can remember my favorite Christmas song was "Joy to the World." I remember singing it in elementary school plays when singing such songs was legal. I also remember the first time in second grade that I wondered to myself what kind of Lord could bring such joy. It was a few years before I really understood that Lord or the joy he could bring, but a lack of understanding did not keep me from appreciating the hope that was in the song.

Sure, Joy to the World has always been my favorite Christmas song, but it has been displaced this year by a different one; one that I would have never suspected. The change in my favorite song happened two days ago on my afternoon bus route.

I pulled into the school to pick up my kids, and many of them were anxiously awaiting my arrival with their jackets buttoned and their hoods up. I would have thought that they were hopping around to stay warm if I didn't already know that they usually hop around, but today the hopping was quite exaggerated. So, With all the hopping and bouncing and yelling, I was concerned that this might be a very crazy bus ride.

I noticed that one of my kids was more hyper than the rest. He is a small 1st grader with close cut blonde hair, a bright mischievous smile, and thick glasses that make his blue eyes look like a pair of dinner plates. He bounced up the steps onto the bus and began leaping from seat to seat. I had to call him down several times, and he eventually settled two seats behind me. He leaned his body over the seat in front of him so he could see the lost and found items under the dashboard.

I whispered to him, "Drake, do you know what month this is?"

In a voice just as soft as mine, he said, "No."

I said, "December." As the rest of the bus grew strangely quiet I realized that they thought we were sharing secrets that they were not supposed to hear.

He said, "Okay."

I said, "Do you know why December is special?"

"No."

"Well, Drake, December is the month of Christmas."

No longer whispering, Drake said, "OHH!"

He sat back in his seat in a more relaxed manner. Soon, just before the buses started leaving, he began bouncing ever so slightly. Then, as I pulled the bus away from the elementary school he began whispering again. "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way." there was a slight pause and then, "jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way." Another pause and then, "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. jingle bells jingle bells, jingle all the way."

He began looking around like he might find the next words written somewhere on the roof of the bus. "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way." His face drew up pensively. His bright smile lowered then got big again and a new twinkle came to his magnified eyes. He began again with more confidence but still in a whisper, "Jingle Bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh" At that moment at the top of my lungs I yelled. "HEY!" He fell back into his seat with a wide look of surprise. Every student on the bus turned to see what was wrong with the crazy bus driver, and then I started whispering, "Jingle bells, jingle bells,"

Drake caught on and he started the song as well. Soon the entire bus was whispering Jingle Bells, but every time we got to sleigh they would stop and let me yell, "HEY!" as loud as I could. The bus began a medley of favorite Christmas songs of which we were lucky to know a single line. None of that mattered as every person on that bus was singing and smiling and waving and laughing. It was then that I realized the power of the Lord that could bring joy. So, this year, and probably only for this year, my favorite Christmas song is Jingle Bells.