As a child, my father worked as a butcher, and Christmas often meant long hours spent cleaning and trussing turkeys.
Right up until Christmas Eve, he would be at work, yet the holiday was filled with joy and anticipation as we eagerly awaited the moment to open our gifts.
It was a time for a two-day break filled with turkey feasts and beer. It felt like my parents had spent the entire year preparing to gift us a wonderful day.
The spirit of goodwill and joy permeated the world around us.
This year, however, my thoughts are consumed by the horrific violence and slaughter happening in Syria. Refugees are losing their homes, forced to flee far from their homeland.
Instead of gifts, they receive bombs and the tragic loss of their loved ones—what is there for them to celebrate?
I don’t wish to sound pessimistic, and I realize I tend to dwell on this topic, but the brutal killing of innocent people and families must come to an end.
With hopes for a joyful Christmas and a prosperous New Year, there lingers a wish just to survive until 2017.
So what can we do… during Christmas, let us all take a moment to pray for peace, and aspire for the reconciliation of people, not just in the Middle East, but globally.
by TOG
