Christmas time: Love is key
Apparently love is not an option, but a mandate given to each
and everyone one of us. Let us go out there
and share with each other, let us be mindful of those with little or no resources, those with little or no reason to
celebrate.
IN a few days’ time, Christmas Day will be upon us. A season that has been long awaited. For years many have always looked forward to these festivities to unwind, to be around family and for some to brace for the upcoming year.
Christmas celebrations have allowed people for generations to take a breather from the challenges and hurdles faced throughout the year and to serve as a moment of thanksgiving of how the Lord has pulled us through it all.
This year’s festivities are particularly special
given the relentless Covid-19 scourge, particularly the delta variant that felled many a giant with its harsh second and third waves.
People big and small were wiped off as families lost their loved ones in numbers. Now the Omicron variant has been threatening, but thank God it is not as harsh.
It is against this background and the uncertainty induced by Covid-19 that many are looking forward to the Christmas holiday to find solace in the festivities and the presence of family around them.
Of course Covid-19 restrictions are in place,
but many plan to enjoy with reckless abandon. The birth of Christ is a big day for any believer, but if truth be said, much of the celebration has nothing to do with that. It is just a time when many “justifiably” lose it and celebrate like there is no tomorrow, even in the literal sense.
As we grew up in Marondera, Christmas was always that time of the year when we would get new clothes, eat rice and chicken and even have “luxuries” such as sweets, cakes and soft drinks. This is when our radio would be on full blast, competing with our neighbours.
This is when we were given a little latitude
to be naughty without courting our parents’ ire. We could do literally anything to enjoy Christmas and Boxing Day, so who wouldn’t wait for the whole year for that time to come again. We would be so eager to show off our new clothes.
My father would always buy us Christmas clothes on December 24, and the few hours to Christmas day was like a whole year. We needed to show off.
But times are a changing. These days it is not as exciting because children access the good food and clothing throughout the year.
To them Christmas then just becomes family time that they must enjoy or even endure in some instances.
Not sure if we still have Christmas carol nights in schools where we would sing Silent Night. The evenings were special.
Be that as it may, Christmas is a time for joy, peace and happiness. Some of us are still to receive the traditional Christmas cards. Perhaps this has become old-fashioned. So yes, the rains received in some parts of the country make this Christmas merrier. The temperatures have cooled down and its green everywhere. This is a healthy environment that adds life to the festive period. This Christmas unlike many before this, comes with renewed hope and faith for a better and brighter tomorrow.
Even during some of the most trying times in recent memory, not least with the Covid-19 pandemic causing untold havoc and sending economies worldwide into a tailspin, we have every reason to celebrate this Christmas and show forth our gratitude to our Maker. Indeed we have come a long way and have survived and lived to tell the story only by the mercies of God.
As alluded earlier, Christmas has always been a time for love, a time for celebration and the coming together of individuals, families and nations for thanksgiving to the Almighty God.
This nation of ours has found Grace and Favour with the Creator and as we gather to celebrate in our various spheres, let love lead. Let this be a time to set aside any and all differences that may arise because of the unpredictable and often times volatile nature of human interaction. Let us share that which is common to all of us, the capacity to give and receive love, the capacity to forgive one another and forge new alliances.
Let us set aside all differences and realise it is actually for us all that we are different and therefore, complementary of each other as we were designed to be by our God. This love, this unity, this caring and sharing should be highlighted and given top priority this and every Christmas but should not end with the coming down of Christmas decorations. It should instead, set the tone for a better, more united, more loving, more prosperous and successful year ahead.
Let us give each other hope. Let us end all those feuds that have torn to shreds the family unit. Let us care for each other at all cost this Christmas and beyond. By doing this we show gratitude to our Maker for what and how He has made us to be.
Let nations put down the gun and pick up a pen to write a love letter to our adversaries. God is love and the only way we can be identified with Him is when we express our true nature; the nature of love, sharing and caring for one another without condition.
The less fortunate around us can do with a lot more love than we are currently exhibiting. Share a meal, share a word this Christmas and witness how small acts of love can revolutionise whole nations, revitalise lost souls and have lasting effects that reverberate throughout eternity. As we celebrate the birth of Love, let us give it and allow ourselves to receive it too. We owe God and each other that much.
Merry Christmas to you all and may we all find and give Love as we ought to.
In God I Trust!
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