My Christmas Wish

Christmas is usually reserved for spending time with family and friends. Children are filled with anticipation and adults try to meet their last minute deadlines as they make plans for the holidays. We look forward to some restful time off. I arrived in Switzerland twenty-six years ago on Christmas Day. I was far away from my family, in a country where I didn’t know anyone and I did not speak the language. Switzerland greeted me with sun and snow. The lifestyle that I was used to became a thing of the past. I soon realized that I would have to let go of many of my traditions and way of life. I left what was familiar and moved into the unfamiliar. There would be many new things to learn and my life would change forever.

A Christmas Journey

Mary and Joseph left what was familiar to them. They journeyed from Nazareth to Bethlehem where the world changed as the Word became flesh; love became flesh as the Son of God came to life. The young couple certainly embraced the new life that was born. The angels sang a song of praise (Luke 2: 13-14) as the Messiah everyone was waiting for came into the world. He quietly entered our world and Christmas is a reminder of that. God quietly lives with us, so quietly, that I wonder if maybe we forget that he is among us. As I let go of what I knew and began a new life in Switzerland, I discovered many things about myself. This is what is meant by dying to oneself: leaving a part of our self behind to discover something new.

Homework

In our searching, we find. In our dying, we make room for new life. My Christmas wish is that you will be able to let go of a part of yourself to make room for something new. God lives and walks among us every day, not just on Christmas. Discover this mystery and embrace it like the young couple in Bethlehem did many years ago.

Karen Curjel