CHRISTMAS WISH LIST...

“What will you like to have for Christmas that you know you cannot really have?” Robert, my friend asked.

“Hmm” I thought quietly to myself before replying “A notebook”

“That is easy, you can buy one for yourself” He said.

“Well, that will mean using up a chunk of my savings. Thanks, but no thanks. And you? What will you like to have for Christmas that you know you cannot have?” I asked him.

“To feed all the poor children in Africa ” he replied.

My self-centered wish to buy a new note book and Robert’s generous wish to feed all the poor children in Africa were items on our Christmas wishlist last year. Even though we knew we could not achieve them, we let them on the list anyway. After all, making a Christmas wish is sometimes about asking for the impossible to be made possible. Not everyone believes in Christmas wish, but yet we all make it every year, simply by telling someone, “I wish you a merry Christmas!”

Christmas is a day when some Christians all over the world celebrate the birth of Christ- God’s gift of love to the world. However, the day means different things to different people due to our diverse idiosyncrasies. For some, it is a time to party into the New Year, for others, it is a time to re-unite with family and friends or a time to reflect on life’s issues with an attitude of gratitude to God.

Amidst all the celebration, there are those who would not be celebrating Christmas this year due to poverty. The 25^th of December to them will be another day of hunger and despair. Of course, this can change if they make it up on someone’s list this year.

What is on your Christmas list? Does it begin and end with you? Do something different this season by remembering those who are in a lesser position than you. Don’t limit your wish list to things you cannot have. Send cards or gifts to those who’d least expect, say a prayer for the poor and forgotten, buy yourself something expensive and extend the love to others too, spend Christmas with family and friends if you never have! Don’t waste the season worrying about what you cannot have; it will only deter the fun! Be open for God to use you as someone’s answered prayer and see how happier this Christmas will be for you. I’m wishing you and yours a joyous Christmas, may the celebration not end with Christmas!