Remembering Christmas

I’ve never been a big fan of Christmas. I remember, when I was 8 or 9 years old, going with my brother and sisters to my grandmother’s house for Christmas dinner and having no gifts under the tree. Something in me changed that day. I guess I found out there is no such thing as Santa Claus. My grandmother, a beautiful soul, was too poor to buy gifts. But she was someone who loved the Lord. I can still see the look of hurt on her face because of not having gifts for us. But even though she didn’t have money to do what she wanted, I remember thinking how much I loved her for all the love she showed my siblings and me. Being home with her was the only gift I needed.

So over the years, I have stressed and obsessed with the rest of us about how I was going to make enough money to buy my loved ones gifts. I have seen more and more how Christmas has come to show the difference between the haves and the have-nots – just an exercise of supporting corporate greed. Now, being old enough to see how this happens, I also see how few people think about the poor and people in need after Thanksgiving and Christmas. And I have learned that the work of Christ Jesus is never done. So I am just happy to see Christmas come and go so the real followers of Christ Jesus can get back to the work at hand.

Robert Warren is a writer and Street Sense vendor.


Region |Washington DC

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