Don't Give up this Christmas!

by Zoe A. Onah
(Surrey, UK)

In the UK in recent weeks, winter announced itself unusually 'early' especially for us Brits accustomed to milder climatic chills. As the skies pelted thick snow bringing a nationwide freeze, the country appeared to paralyze in a matter of hours. Snow and travel (or rather lack of travel), made gloomy news headlines as weary commuters slept in cars or walked for miles home against the fierce elements of the weather.

While snow may temporarily immobilize a country, are you yourself feeling a spiritual, paralytic chill in the countdown to Christmas?

Perhaps you are one person who needs some spark to poke your spirit and toast your soul right now.

Disappointments brought about by dashed expectations, shattered dreams and 'failed' aspirations this year may mean that your mind needs to thaw out. Hurt feelings and strife from once trusted folks who have let you down may have contributed towards an icy heart that is in desperate need for some melting.

Christmas means different things to different people. Christmas should be a time of love, warmth and goodwill toward all men as Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus. It should be a time of merriment. However, while some wish for the beauty of a white Christmas to enhance their seasonal mood others are thinking of a blue Christmas.

THERE IS HOPE

I know it can be even more challenging to see anything bright especially on cloudy, sunless, wintry days. But the gospel brings brightness. The miracle message of hope of Christmas has the power to heal anyone. It has the ability to resurrect the saddest soul to keep going even when it makes sense to give up.

Hope is always futuristic. Hope lives in the future and that means we can always look ahead with bright expectations.

That, in reality, may sound like a theoretical truth. However, the Bible tells us that the path of the just, (which is you and I as believers), shines brighter and brighter till a perfect day. That is a statement of fact which we must deliberately attune to. Whether you believe your life bears testimony to that or not, remember the Bible is truth and therefore cannot lie.

If you open your mind to trust and believe that tomorrow will be better, you set the wheels in motion for this to be so. Let's not allow our experience to cloud what the Bible emphatically states concerning us. Rather let us allow the Word of God to change those experiences. That way we can look up with a cheery expectation at a hopeful future.

REFUSE REGRET

Christmas for many can also be a time of reflection and self-evaluation. It is prudent to actively barricade thoughts of what you have lost this year and not allow them to be magnified into sorrow and regret.

We must forget our mistakes of the last twelve months and press ahead. Self-condemnation and regret can keep us paralyzed and immobile. No... keep pressing on in this area. Break free from the chains.

Saint Paul in the Bible refused to remember his bloody past in which he murdered Christians. If he had allowed self-condemnation to fill his heart, where would the message of the Bible be today? Paul wrote most of the New Testament as we have it today and went on to be one of the greatest Apostles only because he did not allow thoughts of his past to burden him.

Someone once said that gazing too intently in the past means the future runs out on us. Make a choice to reserve the gaze energy for the moment you lock eyes with the man of your dreams instead of him running past you!

Perhaps you are thinking you are stuck in a rut. How can you be stuck in anything when you have Jesus? No, think better things of your life. Take control of what you process in your mind. Shut down the factory of negative thoughts that may have been working overtime till now.

Does it matter that you have not achieved all you set out to do this year? The point is you are alive. As long as you are alive it means there is a fresh chance with each new day of accomplishing those very goals irrespective of your current limitations. God does not need oodles of time to change any situation in your life. He does not need perfect conditions either. All He needs is your faith and trust in Him.

SAY NO TO ANXIETY

Anxiety cannot be allowed to take up illegal residence in your heart. Remember God is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last. This means we are in between. It also means He has an answer to that issue, to that fear, to that worry that has kept you awake in recent nights.

Believe it or not, God knows how old you are! There is no point reminding Him..."God I am going to be 35 years next year and I am STILL waiting!" He wasn't absent in some celestial meeting when you were born. He knows about the dreaded clock that is ticking more and more loudly. All He is saying is take the batteries out! Or throw away the clock! In effect, turn off thoughts about time.

If you still insist that time is running out, the question is, whose time? Nobody's except the times and deadlines we set. God does not have a today or tomorrow. He lives in eternity, remember? A thousand years is like a year to Him. A year like a thousand year. In Heaven there is no time, no clock. As women in particular, we must remind ourselves that time is not an issue. It will keep us looking young and keep wrinkles at bay, the less conscious of age we become.

GOD HAS NOT FORGOTTEN YOU

The message of hope this Christmas must bring about a consciousness of the infinite love that God has for us.

Remember that the very hairs on our heads are numbered by God. Numbered is different from counted. To be numbered means our hairs are not only counted but each strand has its own unique number! Think about it. This tells us how much God knows us intimately. Much more than we know ourselves. Therefore we can rest in the knowledge that we are safe in His Hands. Yes, God is in control. He has not forgotten you.

DEALING WITH LONELINESS

Loneliness is a real issue. The happy, buzzing shoppers, the nonstop adverts belching from TV sets, overdone Christmas trees everywhere and the "Ho Ho Ho" of Santa Claus everywhere can affect the socially isolated or even those coping with grief at this time.

There are practical ways of dealing with loneliness. Reaching out to others is one such way. Instead of looking within, extend out. Doing this makes us like Jesus as we show love to others and put them before ourselves. Not only will feelings of loneliness wane but in time you will reap rewards. God will remember you for good as He did with others in the Bible and so will the others whose lives you have touched. Who also knows what doors of opportunity will open for you or who you might meet through this selfless act?

THE QUEEN WITHIN YOU

Finally, as the curtains of 2010 come to a close, let us learn to embrace the queens that we are. Wholeheartedly. You are part of God's royal family. Make it a date this season to know you! There are jewels He has placed inside you. Treasures are always hidden and never found on the surface. Treasures need to be extracted. Where after all do you find diamond, rubies and oil? Several feet down below the surface of the earth.

Yes, take time this Christmas to find out what God has deposited in you, those hidden treasures. Turn down invites for any of those self-organized pity parties with yourself. Come off the phone with girlfriends always complaining about the lack of men, gossiping or making your faith weak. Invest in your personality instead and see that diamond within you begin to sparkle. Who will resist you then? Whoa! Way to go, ladies.

THANK YOU READERS...

It has been a great year with you all in 2010. I wouldn't have enjoyed this wonderful journey without you. Thank you so much for your support and valuable comments. I have enjoyed writing this column as much as you have enjoyed reading it. Believe it or not, I have learned so much myself as I have penned this column. I believe the Holy Spirit has more in store for us through this column in 2011. But till then, wishing you a joyful, merry Christmas and a hopeful and shining New Year.

See you next year! Bye for now. x