my favorite santa

Jared was Santa in his 3rd grade Christmas play. If you know Jared at all this seems out of character. And it is. Jared is shy. Jared hates attention. Jared hates to do anything in front of others. So why did he try out for the part of Santa(that had 15+ lines) when there were other smaller parts like an elf with only 2 lines? We have no idea. He came home all excited and told me he tried out for the Santa part. I had a heart to heart with him about it. I explained that this play would be done in front of the kids at school and parents with 5 performances in all. He wanted to be Santa. I told him this wasn't something he could opt out of in the end, he couldn't get cold feet. If he said he would be Santa, he had to follow through. He said he understood all that and said that he wanted to be Santa. I asked Allen if we should tell the teacher to not give him the part-to explain how shy he is about this kind of stuff, that there was a good chance he would end up in tears on the stage. He said the teacher knew Jared and she would do what was best. He got the part. He memorized his lines, he helped with the backstage music and backdrops. I prayed alot for that boy the next several weeks. The day of his first performance he said he wasn't nervous. I sure was. When I picked him up he said he did great and wasn't nervous. So by time Allen and I went to see him my stomach didn't hurt and I just enjoyed the play and the wonderful Santa...who didn't look scared and who remembered all his lines. After the show I talked to his teacher and asked why she didn't give him a smaller part and wondering if she knew my son at all. She said she had the same reservations but that after he tried out (and he did good) she passed by him at his desk and heard him praying "please let me be Santa". And she said to me, "how could I not answer that child's prayer?" and so she gave him the part and hoped it would all work out. And it did.

my other favorite Santa