#steemitachievers' 2k Blog Writing Competition "Christmas" - Christmas, what does it made me feel?

Hi there! Thank you for sparing your time reading this post. This is my official entry for the 2K WORDS BLOG WRITING COMPETITION with a theme "CHRISTMAS" by Sir @long888. I'll be sharing to you two parts about how Christmas made me feel this time and I'm glad to share a peace of my heart to you :)

DISCLAIMER: I'm not that fond of having documentations or taking videos so I don't have a lot of good photos on this post but I do hope that in my style of writing, I get to touch your life. As what Sir @long888 said as the purpose of this contest, it's not about winning. But this is a vessel to WRITE, SHARE, and GIVE support to the things that we actually like to do.

So here it goes ...

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For the first part ...

I will always write about Christmas.

Usually, during Christmas, people have parties, gifts drowning, and a series of get 'togethers' with friends and family. And I get to do that with these people too.

These photos below were taken last Sunday (12/17/17) wherein we had our Christmas party at church with these beautiful people.

           And this is my BRIDE FAMILY <3

In our stay here on earth, we are not made to be alone. We are wired to create relationships with other people. And this family is one of the gifts I’ve received this year. These people helped me to be the best version of myself. They corrected me when I became foolish in making decisions in life and encouraged me when I was going down the slope.

Paul said “Look out for one another’s interest, not just for your own.” Feelings are not always true and logical. Resentment makes us act in foolish ways. As David admitted “When my thoughts were bitter and my feelings were hurt, I was stupid as an animal.” We all act beastly when hurt. On the contrary, “It’s a man’s glory to overlook an offense.” It is wisdom to hear the other’s perspective. I believe this cliche is true: People don’t care what we know until they know we care.

Christmas is about #reconciliation. Emphasize reconciliation, not resolution. We can’t always expect people to agree with us all the time. But we can reestablish relationship even when we are unable to resolve our differences. The goal is to save the relationship. But it doesn’t mean that you give up on finding a solution. God expects unity more than uniformity. We can walk arm-in-arm without seeing eye to eye on every issue.

             Sisters by choice ❤

These people taught me how to love the way He loves us. I believe that Christmas is also about #love and #forgiveness. 1 Corinthians 13:13 “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is LOVE.”

How did God guided the Israelites with a pillar of cloud in the day and a pillar of fire at night while they were indulging in pagan revelry? How did God made breakfast for Peter who denied Him not just once but three times? Hod did God chase and found Paul in his wanderings, killing the very things God lived for? Love, it was because of love.

They didn’t even say a word, not even a gesture of apology but God was right there all along. And I begin to realize that when you’re disappointed but you were able to stay, that’s love right there.

A pastor once said, ” Love is not expecting to get something that can make you feel better. Love is encouraging the person who disappointed you to change and become better. Not so that you will not be disappointed anymore, but because you know that it is what is good for that person. ”

Apology is not a prerequisite to forgiveness. Forgiveness is something we choose, something we decide. So instead of waiting for an apology that I may never get, I choose His choice, I choose love. There are still wounds that are not healed yet and healing is not defined by our resiliency. But I choose to maintain love and treat them with love ❤

And this is my Spiritual leader. <3 This person protected me with her prayers, and loved me with all of her corrections.

Another exciting thing about Christmas is the eating sesh haha :D Diet is life but food is lifer!!! :)))

We can’t always be the same person all the time. We are seeds and that we are wired to grow and to blossom. Growth is never an option for a person who wanted to live for more. Sometimes when we grow up, we also grow apart. People are really in our life for a reason, a season, and for a lifetime.

Christmas also made me have the mantra of #self care. Self care is not selfish. Loving yourself, growing yourself or wanting to get better is the best form of selfishness when the aim is selflessness. Sometimes, you have to put yourself first. “You can’t save a drowning person with a sinking ship.” That is why, secure your boat first to avoid more casualties.

Coming from a broken family, I've found true family with them. I'm grateful for these people who stayed in my life. And I am a firm believer that you need people in your life, right people :) #gratefulvibes

This year also, I was able to work with these people who made Christmas more fun and meaningful. I work as a part time teacher in a Chinese Company teaching English and I realized that Christmas is not just about celebrations and events but it is a union of people who work for each other and help one another, by any means :D

           This is my CC Class Family <3

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Now, let me share to you the other side of Christmas and how it affected me emotionally this time ...

Its three days before Christmas and I always wonder about that specific point of time where it evaporated so fast. It amazes me what Christmas represents. Its a time when people who say they believe and people who say they don't believe in God come together to celebrate a day that is used as a mark for Christ's birth. A time full of cheer and luster and sparkles spilling.

But this time, I felt that Christmas is like a closing year with a million of sentences with "And just like that ... ". And a million of questions if it were all better having gone just like that, or could have been. Christmas is like a disguise of an ending. A buzzer beater that signals that you are at the end of the race, arriving with a distinct disturbance of every time. A message that you are at the end once again and the question is whether you have done enough.

Christmas exposes people’s desires to have more time to achieve the things they want, or maybe to savor and enjoy the moment still or what remains of it. It’s easier to forget than to behold, to be caught up, to be neglectful than to be mindful. It isn’t until the tail-end of the show that we come to our senses, that we remember that we have to remember, and wake up.

Nevertheless, in the whole play I know they are rather pleasant intermissions. It’s easy to see them like they’re the cut-off point for our dreams when they’re just the cue for the next act – a farewell, yet a continuation at the same time. In their wake lay a couple of failed expectations, or mistakes that could have been prevented; but in their dawn also lies this furious kind of hope for a future where the best is yet to take place. And in that my soul will always be consoled – life will always be renewed, and many dreams will refuse to die.

The reason why we find ourselves short of time is because we sometimes forget to number our days – and to number our days right. This time, Christmas leave me often sentimental but more often, I am thankful.

But after a long thought, I was reminded that Christmas is not about everything being light and bright. It’s about that one star hovering over the manger, steady for those who have eyes to see. I recall how myrrh, the third gift of the wise men, is most commonly used for embalming – myrrh was presented to baby Jesus as the foreboding of His death. And that act in and of itself appears brooding and gloomy but it tells me one thing: Christmas isn’t about simply His coming, it’s about His coming to die that we might see that still, small light.

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned…
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 ‭9:2, 6‬)

Christmas is a perfect space for hope, and hope will always be something to write about. :)

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There it is! Thank you #steemitachievers community and sir @long888 for this opportunity. Thank you also to sir @paradise-found. I'm #grateful for all of you!!!! Have a merry and wonderful Christmas ❤❤❤

• JasminTG