Sha Nacino Merry Christmas! 🙂
How did you celebrate Christmas?
Did you have fun with your family and friends?
Depending on family dynamics, Christmas can be a very happy occasion for many or lonely for some.
Whatever the circumstance, may you remember that you are so loved.
Jesus loves you so much.
Today, I’d like to share my 2022 Christmas reflections:
- What we do NOW impacts generations that follow.
I attended our family Christmas reunion from my Mama side. There were five generations who were present in that celebration. I can’t help but be so grateful to my grandparents for raising 11 children. They were poor farmers, but they managed to successfully raise 11 children. (Thank you, Kako and Kakay!)
There are two distinct things I remember about my grandparents.
My grandmother was such a prayerful woman while my grandfather was a great storyteller.
When I was about 10 or 12 years old, I went to visit my grandmother in her room. She was praying, So I remained quiet and just observed her.
Here’s what I found out: Her prayer was not generic. (E.g. I pray for my family).
She specifically mentioned the names of each and every member of the family — her children and their respective spouses, her grandchildren, and her great grandchildren.
She knew how many grandchildren and great grandchildren she has.
She knew who’s the eldest grandchild, who’s the 15th, 20th, and so on.
I heard my name and it was the sweetest thing to hear.
She’d pray from 3PM – 5PM every single day.
My grandfather loved telling stories.
He would sit down in the veranda and his grandchildren (we) would sit on the floor and listen to him. Even if he already shared the same stories with us over and over again, we still enjoyed listening to him every time.
My grandparents may not have finished school but they definitely knew how to use their gifts of prayer and storytelling to bless their offsprings.
My grandparents are no longer around, but their legacy keeps growing. We have a huge clan. So huge that I now have grandchildren from my cousins’ children’s children. Hehe! All my aunts and uncles are also happily married.
Reflection questions:
1. How can I inspire the members of my family with the way I live my life today?
2. How can I bless my family and the people around me using my gifts?
2. Feed your mind and heart with the right food.
Let me share two funny stories.
Story #1: Movie night
The other night, my family had a movie night. My brother and sis-in-law picked the movie — a suspense thriller.
The movie brought us through a roller coaster of emotions and the biggest twist happened at the tail-end of the movie. The plot twist was so disturbing. We saw some scenes we wanted to unsee.
So at past 10:30PM, we played another movie, anything funny, just to neutralize our emotions from the first movie. Hehe!
When I slept that night, some scenes from the first movie kept replaying in my mind. I had to force myself to think of other things to replace those thoughts.
(Haaay… I’ll stick to feel-good movies next time.)
Story #2: The blue car
Time check: 6:30PM
My siblings and I just came from the wet market to buy fish, vegetables, and fruits and we were now on our way home. My brother was driving my car and we were having a good time laughing inside the car.
We also decided to take the scenic route going home, the one with a view of the river. The roads were narrow though, and only one car can pass at a time.
After a few minutes, a speeding blue car appeared behind us and the driver kept honking at us. He even flashed his lights.
We wondered,
“What does he want? Maybe he wants to overtake. Okay let’s find a wider space where we can park on the side so he can overtake us.”
We did.
Alas! The car also stopped and the driver opened his door. Then he raised his hand.
My siblings and I got scared.
Uh oh. Why did he stop and why is he approaching us?
I could sense our reaction was based on the effect of the movie we watched the other night.
It turned out the man was from the fruit store and he apparently made a mistake in giving us change. So he went after us to return the Php300 change. Hehe! Such an honest man.
Reflection questions:
1. What should I feed my mind and heart? Hint: Good books, inspiring podcasts, clean music, etc.
2. What should I refrain from consuming? Hint: Too much social media, toxic movies, etc.
3. The Greatest Gift
Christmas is usually associated with giving and receiving gifts.
What gifts did you receive this year?
Maybe you got the items on your wish list.
Maybe you got an answered prayer — you got a new job, a new car, a new boyfriend or girl friend, you got engaged, or you got pregnant… Or you traveled to different countries.
Or maybe your friends did but you didn’t.
The temptation to feel bad can be very strong.
It’s okay to feel that way. Feel your emotions and be kind to yourself.
Bring it to prayer.
Then remind yourself of the Greatest Gift you have received this Christmas.
You got the Greatest Gift. His name is Jesus.
This year, I got a lot of answered prayers — some were beyond my imagination.
But I also didn’t get my #1 prayer yet.
And yes, the tendency to feel bad is there.
Here’s my biggest breakthrough this year:
I made a decision that I will still always choose to be happy, keep a good attitude, be kind, trust God and His timing, praise Him, and cling to Him whether His answer to my prayer is yes, no, or not yet. What a beautiful and free-er way to live. My happiness is no longer dependent on getting what I want. I don’t do it perfectly, but I feel like I’ve grown by leaps and bounds in this area. Praise God!
Sometimes we can get distracted by the things of this world, or the success as how social media defines it.
Sometimes we can get distracted looking at what other people are getting, that we fail to see what we have.
This Christmas season, may we focus on what really matters and who really matters.
May this song Star ng Pasko help us do that.
Reflection questions
- What is my biggest breakthrough this year?
- What are my unexpected blessings this year?
Merry Christmas to you and your family! 🙂
I wish you love, joy, and peace today and everyday!
Cheers,
Sha
P.S. You are a blessing. You are enough. You are loved.
