This is the time of the year when, sooner rather than later, someone will call out, “Hey, Santa!” Over a decade ago, I took a two-week vacation and didn’t shave. When we returned, my wife suggested that I just let it grow to see what it looked like. So, I did.
For quite some time, I have had, not gray hair, but white hair. And, when the beard came in, it was white too. Add to the fact that I have a larger than normal body, it is not too hard to see the resemblance.
When people first started calling me Santa, it irritated me no end. I might smile and wave back but, on the inside, I was seething. Guys don’t mind so much being mistaken for Tom Cruise or even Sean Connery. But mistaken for Santa Claus? Who wants to looks like Santa Claus?
So, I resented it … especially when it was strangers doing the deed. I thought it was rude, crude, and offensive. It was my wife that finally said, “You know, you have three choices: (1) You can shave. (2) You can lose weight. (3) You can roll with it.”
It was at the beach that I decided to try rolling with it for the first time. I was sitting in a chair on the beach reading a book one summer when I looked up and a little boy, about 4 years old, was staring at me with an intensely serious gaze. So I said, “Well, hey there!”
He looked around cautiously, leaned in, and whispered, “Are you Santa?”
I put my finger to my lips said, “Shhhhhhhh! Don’t tell anybody. I’m on vacation.”
His eyes got wide, he vibrated like a tuning fork with excitement and said, “I won’t!” as he took off and ran down the beach.
That scene has been repeated countless times since then, usually with small children, and, especially, near Christmas. Sometimes, adults get in on the action too. Just a few days ago, in the supermarket check-out line, a lady said, “Well, Santa, I’ve been a very good girl this year. What are you going to bring me?”
I laughed. She said, “What are you laughing at?”
I said, “I saw a cartoon on Facebook last week. It was of a dead Santa Claus lying in the street. The caption read, ‘Santa died laughing. He heard that you were telling people that you had been good this year.’” And then I said, “I thought of the cartoon when you said that.”
She laughed and said, “You little snot! You just had to tell me tha,t didn’t you?”
I smiled and said, “It’s part of my charm.” Other people were smiling and laughing too. Before I left, I turned to her and said, “You have a little less than two weeks until Christmas. You still have a little time to turn things around.”
Not only have I learned to roll with it, a couple of years ago, I bought a Santa suit. “In for a penny, in for a pound,” I thought. I don’t play the role often but I have done a few charity events. If I let my beard grow enough, it adds, I think, to the believability and authenticity.
My children marvel at this because, when they were young, I never allowed them to believe in Santa Claus. I thought that if they discovered the truth that they would never trust me when they were told of Jesus.
In retrospect, I think I was wrong and I regret those actions. My sons did not repeat my actions and the grandchildren seemed to have turned out just fine.
So, I haven’t shaved the beard off, I certainly have not lost weight, and I have learned, to a great extent, to roll with it. And now, I have come to expect it.
I’m thinking that, on Christmas Eve, I might just put on the suit, hop on the Harley, and roar down the highway, waving at every kid I see. Santa not only vacations at the beach but he rides a motorcycle as well. And, when there is no snow and ice, reindeer are simply useless.
[David Epps is the pastor of the Cathedral of Christ the King, Sharpsburg, GA (www.ctkcec.org). He is the bishop of the Mid-South Diocese which consists of Georgia and Tennessee (www.midsouthdiocese.org) and the Associate Endorser for the Department of the Armed Forces, U. S. Military Chaplains, ICCEC. He may contacted at frepps@ctkcec.org.]
