I forgot to mention---

At a Christmas party we attended, there was a Santa there handing out presents. He called out the kids names and then they came up to sit on his lap and get their present. After a few names, Margaret Mary came up to me with a worried perplexed look on her face. Timidly she asked me "Mommy, have I been good this year?"  I couldn't help but smile. Had she been good? It's not that she has been bad, but I wouldn't say she has been "good" either.  I would say about 50/50.  She was obviously worried at this party when she discovered that only kids who have been good get presents.  I thought for a second and then told her that she HAD been a good girl and reassured her that Santa had a present for her. Even though it seems like everyday is a battle, she is good because she was made by God, because I love her and because she has infinite worth; nothing she could do could ever change that.  I have to admit though that even though we don't do Santa, I kind of like that my daughter had to examine her conscious a little.  Such a great picture of God and his love. Even though, by our actions, we don't deserve the gift of heaven, the gift of love, the gift of mercy; he gives it to us because he loves us. Because he made us.