I’ve been dreaming of a green Christmas just like the ones I’ve never known… where the palm trees are swaying and children are playing out in the nice warm sun…
This Christmas, I got exactly what I had been dreaming of for so long but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing this December.
No one was singing me tidings of comfort and joy.
No one adorned himself with pseudo facial hair to ring a bell outside the mall or hear expectant children’s Christmas wishes.
Talk of Christmas and tradition was mostly met with confusion and apathy.
It started to feel like Christmas was a distant idea. My memories of family celebrations suddenly felt surreal.
Christmas in Cambodia is almost an oxymoron. It’s understandably and unfortunately irrelevant.
Despite the lack of relevance Christmas has in Buddhist nations, I found that Jesus is determined to be celebrated.
Her eyes were beaming with joy as she asked us to come spend the night on Christmas Eve and celebrate with her on Christmas morning.
What are the odds we would meet a French-Canadian missionary willing to open her home to us? What are the chances we would meet somebody who wanted make Jesus’s birthday special among a people who don’t realize just how special He is, was and always will be?
Because we serve a Father who loves His children, the odds are always in our favor.
This Christmas, I didn’t get new pajamas, socks or that book I’ve always wanted.
This Christmas, I got pure love and insurmountable joy.
When Jesus was born, He welcomed His Kingdom into a world run by everything contrary to it. The essence of His Kingdom is irrational love.
I experienced Christmas this past year in exactly the way the Father intended from the moment His son entered the world.
Someone who had previously been a stranger provided us with mouthwatering barbeque chicken, warm homemade bread and the best night’s sleep I have had in months.
December 25th 2016 will go down in history as the best Christmas I have ever had.
The Father continued to bless us with His love even after we left her home.
From Scrabble to bovine carolers, He made sure I felt the depth and detail of His love for me.
At the end of the day, we had the opportunity to present the gospel to the students we had been working with. I can’t imagine a better way to end our celebration of the day that Jesus came to change everything.
When I signed up for the Race, I thought Christmas would be full of tears and missing all that I thought Christmas was about.
Turns out I was dead wrong.
I don’t think Christmas could get any better than this.
I challenge you to celebrate Christ in new ways as you enter 2017. Ask Him what He wants for His birthday. Ask Him how He wants His time to be spent. It turns out that what He wants is far more fulfilling than anything we’re used to.
