A poignant scene in the 2009 animated movie starring Jim Carrey “A Christmas Carol” was when Scrooge went arguing with his nephew Fred on the merits of celebrating Christmas – these exchange of words before Fred left his uncle’s office after failing to invite him to a Christmas dinner goes like this…Scrooge: What reason have you to be merry? You're poor enough. Fred: What reason have you to be so dismal? You're rich enough.
That powerful statement mirrors for me in an oblique way the lesson of this ‘merry’ season, as well as the lessons I’ve learned this year that is about to end – 2010. It reflects our disposition when we act or not react to what has been happening in our lives. Sometimes, our actions are dictated not by the true measure of our self-worth but by ‘feelings’ we have from what we hear and we see around us. We lost track of what is essential – to be contented on what we have and not on gripe on things we don’t have in whatever form it may be i.e. career, family, finance, service, qualification, provision and love.
Of course, it’s not easy to be ‘merry’ when there’s a pile of bills to pay, debts to settle, mortgage repayments to make, broken relationship to mend, children to raise, difficult people to contend with, work to finish up, loneliness to fill, sickness to heal. The difficulty is more pronounced when in the middle of these problems in life is “you” or “me” in it. Imagine these problems happening without ‘you’ or ‘me’ involved. Would that attitude of being worried replaced by apathy; desperation with nonchalance; concern with indifference and unhappiness with contentment?
It suddenly dawned on me a thought that has been surreptitiously swimming in my mind and heart for a while now - That I can still be happy in the midst of these tumultuous problems just as long as “I” removed myself from it and let ‘Him” replace me. Let His plan evolve and not for me to solve. Let me gain His perspective and not my own directive. Let God provide and me to set aside. Let His purpose as my guide for me to abide. It may not be as simple as that…but it is really as simple as that. We lost track of what the main thing is…To keep the main thing the main thing – to let Go and let GOD.
And so to make justice to the title of this essay to parallel the truth of my realization – I’ve made a list of things that this year that ‘was not’ and to highlight what it ‘was’.
In the Homefront…
· - It wasn’t a good year for the company I’m working with – it was a ‘Great’ year as we transformed from a multi-million business to a billion dollar business. What makes it great was the recognition I got that I made a difference – whatever that was.
· -Joy was not keen to be 40, but feel truly blessed that she reached the golden age of where life truly starts.
· -My daughter Alexcie May wasn’t happy with what has happened in her relationships and studies but it gained her a lot of insightful perspective and painful lessons in love and in life.
· -It wasn’t our expectation but baby Caleb came into our lives – we’re now 10 in the family. God added a new blessing to us.
In the CFC Community…
-This year wasn’t a year of local evangelization because we went a step further from our local chapter to missions in Rockhampton, Perth and Solomon Islands.
· -This year wasn’t unproductive for the mums – we were blessed with babies like Gabriela Duque, Abigail Suerte and Caleb Osorio. These bubs confirmed God’s continuous blessings of life.
· -Many plans – our plans – was never realized because God’s plan to bond ourselves in fellowship, mission and prayer has dominated our service and commitment to the community.
· -It wasn’t a good year for many of our brethren who are still sick and ailing in their health. But somehow – their lives has changed and transformed us to be steadfast and persevering as they are and cling to the the Hope that God has promised redemption and healing.
· -It wasn’t an idle year in community activities – All of the ministries have two or more activities that made the year as busy as it can be. The stress is equated by the amount of effort you pour in multiplied by the how much time the activity lasted. And it yet it wasn’t even minutely enough compared to the selfless service the creator of the universe has to endure to be humiliated by being nailed to a thieves cross just to save his mere but beloved creatures.
In the Global Arena…
· -It wasn’t a good year in the global financial market. But it was year that exposes the volatility of our economies and the need to balance and control it. Money is not the root of all evils – the love of money is.
· -It wasn’t a good year for famous people gone haywire (the Woods, Gibsons, Lohans, Madoffs etc) due to scandals and public display of their embarrassing lives. It shows how weak and frail they are in spite of their fame and acclaim – echoes of Fred’s words to Scrooge - how these people’s lives are in dismal state despite of their worldly riches.
· -The state of our planet’s climate wasn’t what the meteorologist has expected and predicted. The constant changing of nature’s laws left many suffering from good produce, loss of shelter, physical dislocation, health issues and unpredictable weather. Desert lands became wet sands, spring traverse summers and lakes become barren soils. But it made us realize that despite of the advances in technology and human intelligence – we are still made of simple ash and only reason we still survive and live is God’s enduring love for us.
With all these things happening…what is in store for us in the new year? I don’t know and you may not know? Only He knows. And that what sustains us – our Faith. The truth that inspite of what the world is turning into – if we only put him First and Above all things, life can be as wonderful, good and as exciting as it would and could ever be. We survived for 2010 years – we shall survive and prevail in God’s hands.
And as we celebrate Christ’s birth in the next few hours…let us remember that we should not lost the spirit of expectancy like most of the world has lost the meaning of Christmas. We cannot prepare for an observance. We must prepare for an experience.
A blessed Christmas to all!
