"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
(Isaiah 9:6)
Do you still remember your first Christmas? Most probably, at that time, you don't even know how to spell C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S! Yet, as you grow older, December becomes one of the most anticipated and animated month of your year.
As for us, this year 2007 is our first Christmas as a family! We remember how nine (9) months ago, Hannah was born. By December 7, 2007 our daughter has equaled the time she spent inside Aileen's womb! About 2000 years ago, our Savior was born in a manger minus all the glamour of today's Christmas.
As we stare at our child with all our hopes and dreams for her, we realize that our Lord Jesus Christ was born to die for the world. He who was born in an obscure place became the King who has no place to lay His head on. Yet, He left the world to prepare a place for us in His heavenly kingdom!
(Isaiah 9:6)
Do you still remember your first Christmas? Most probably, at that time, you don't even know how to spell C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S! Yet, as you grow older, December becomes one of the most anticipated and animated month of your year.
As for us, this year 2007 is our first Christmas as a family! We remember how nine (9) months ago, Hannah was born. By December 7, 2007 our daughter has equaled the time she spent inside Aileen's womb! About 2000 years ago, our Savior was born in a manger minus all the glamour of today's Christmas.
As we stare at our child with all our hopes and dreams for her, we realize that our Lord Jesus Christ was born to die for the world. He who was born in an obscure place became the King who has no place to lay His head on. Yet, He left the world to prepare a place for us in His heavenly kingdom!
Hannah will be spending her first Christmas here in Manila and celebrate her grandmother Lory's birthday on December 27 (my mom's first birthday with Hannah). The following day, Hannah flies over to Cebu for the first time with her first flight for "free" as an infant via Cebu Pacific and spends her first New Year being seen for the first time by many of Aileen's relatives and friends.
Then, Hannah gets the chance to greet for the first time her grandmother Linda, "Happy Birthday" (in sign language) by January 3. Hannah will also witness the birth of her first cousin in Cebu and travel to Bantayan Island also for the first time and enjoy her first sun bathing in the beach! A dozen of firsts for our firstborn child!
We also remember about a year before Hannah was born (March 2006), Aileen and I were in a missions trip to Banda Aceh, Indonesia, seeing the ruins of this tsunami-stricken city. Our tour guide, Ahyar shared that he grew up as a Muslim with no idea of the Christmas story. He inquired from a Christian friend where he can find the story about Christmas.
Ahyar was given the Holy Bible, where he discovered for the first time in his life who the Christ of Christmas was. He eventually became a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. When his father found out that his son became a believer of Christianity, he asked his co-league in the military to come to his house one night with a mission of killing his son Ahyar! If not for his mother's mercy, who asked Ahyar to leave the house through their back door, he might no longer be in the world today.
As we celebrate Christmas this year, let us remember our brothers and sisters in Christ, who dwells in the other side of the globe who are celebrating Christmas in a hostile and life-threatening environment.
May this Christmas be a moment of rededication of our lives to the Christ of Christmas. May the Lord Jesus be the centerpiece of our celebration and may He once again be given the rightful place in us, right there at the center of our hearts! May we also bring Christ back in Christmas as we share the love of Jesus to our friends & loved ones! May you have a Blessed Christmas & a Spirit-filled New Year!
