Little did I know last Christmas that I would be spending Christmas 2018 in the mountains of Ethiopia. A few weeks ago, I celebrated Christmas with 50 people I just met in July. Although it didn’t completely feel like Christmas, God taught me a lot during that season. He showed me that traditions can be changed and that creativity in the way I find Him in every season is crucial. God especially made sure to reveal to me where I find my comfort. At home during the holidays, I cling to traditions and people instead of truly turning to God and seeing what He has for me. I always look forward to shopping, baking, watching Christmas movies, playing in the snow, dressing up for Christmas, and seeing family. However, I don’t think I ever spent much time thinking about God during that time. On a holiday where I should be digging even deeper into my relationship with God, I sometimes chose to turn away. This year, God was really my only choice but He made me so happy to choose Him. I just needed to get away from everything at home to realize that it would be a joy to choose Him. And through choosing Him, He taught me a lot about my previous expectations during the holidays.
The first big thing God taught me was that traditions can and should be changed. Sometimes, the holidays look the same for me every year. I start decorating the house the second Thanksgiving is over, I go buy gifts for others and a lot of times myself, I bake sweets with my sisters and mom, I go sledding with my younger siblings, I go to holiday parties, and so much more. However, there is not many times when I asked God what the Christmas season should look like. Sure, He could have asked me to decorate the house with my younger sister or go to holiday parties; there is no problem in that. The problem comes when I was selfish in the way I spent my holiday season. I would stick to traditions in order to avoid doing things God was inviting me into.
God also invited me into new amounts of creativity during the holiday season and throughout the year. This year, I truly learned that it doesn’t require money to celebrate Christmas. Team Towdah on my squad took on the job of being Christmas Committee; they created fun activities, decorated our home, sang songs for us, and so much more. I can honestly say that we got creative this holiday season. I traded a decorated Christmas tree for palm branches from outside and a handmade ornament consisting of team Towdah’s extra passport photos. I hung a sock of mine on a rope along with 50 other socks to be our stockings this year. We were really limited for Christmas sweets so we had fried dough “cookies” with cinnamon and sugar. Also, we weren’t expecting to have real Christmas sweets, however, Towdah stayed up all night Christmas Eve baking cookies, peppermint bark, and no-bake cookies for each team. I also traded sledding in snowstorms for playing Christmas Day soccer and volleyball games in 70-degree weather. God taught me a lot in just these simple things. I don’t need a perfect Christmas with everything like it always has been. I simply need love for my Father and love for the people He has placed in front of me at that time, willing to do whatever He is calling me to.
In order to be willing to do whatever God calls me to, I need to find my comfort in Him. God has revealed this to me so much over my race and especially during the Christmas season. I have tried to find comfort in so many worldly things, but, God took me away for a year to in order to help me find my comfort in Him. And, being away from home for Christmas helped me to refocus my where I find my comfort and it has been good. As hard as it was dealing with homesickness this Christmas, God taught me to find my comfort, joy, peace, love, energy, and hope in Him and Him alone and everything else will flow from that. From the overflow of God is where I will find my Christmas traditions for the year, the things I will do to serve for the year, and so much more. Thank you Lord for bringing me places where I can embrace the new things you are trying to teach me and thank you for a new mindset on celebrating the holidays.
