Making Christmas Stay

ERNESTO E. MAIPID, JR.

2020 is over two weeks old, and here I am at 66, in the early morning, assessing my life according to my New Year resolutions.

New Year’s resolutions are promises that are easily broken. I am no exception at not keeping my New Year’s resolutions. But the year 2020 hits me as if It is my last chance of becoming better – eventually leaving this world with a personal mark of a presence that mattered.

I remember making sure that I heard Mass – the 5th of my intended 9 First Friday devotion, to keep the flow. This was not just any Friday. It dawned on me how significant it was for the Lord to pave for me to attend this particular Mass. It was the first Friday of the year and of the decade – the end of which I thought may or may not happen for me anymore.

A NEW LIGHT

Among the Christmas greetings I received, there was one that struck me. And through the season, I thought this was best to keep as my one-year resolution. The message was, ‘CHRISTMAS is about BEING BORN AGAIN each day!’

What a challenge, I thought – to live each day in its newness! I thank God each morning for fresh opportunities to love Him and to deal with problems from a different perspective. It is not that easy. It requires a lot of self-denial, self-sacrifice, and a choice to forget oneself, pick up my ‘cross,’ and follow him.

Now, I better understand Christmas beyond its colorful trimmings. Foremost is reflecting on what happened that first Christmas. Joseph’s apprehension of taking Mary as his wife. With a child in her womb, Mary chose to face ridicule and rejection for not marrying Joseph. There was no room available for them at the inn. Now all these make sense!

My first week’s experience heralds many insights into how I relate with people each day. I am conscious of moving with a mission to make a ‘birthing’ happen in each encounter.

5 KEY LESSONS FROM MY REFLECTIONS

1. REMINDING MYSELF THAT I AM MADE OF CLAY

As a human being, I find myself brittle and breakable, sometimes competitive, insensitive, and easily hurt. I need to hold on to things from a more in-depth and broader perspective. I have to be more tolerant of the other’s mishaps and forgiving of under or oversights. In all, giving the other person the benefit of the doubt is always better. To think highly of the other and mean well is the surer approach.

2. SEEKING TO UNDERSTAND NOT OTHERS TO UNDERSTAND ME

With the intent to ‘be born’ and ‘seed’ life, my focus is on the ‘other.’ I make that extra effort to listen to what people say – patiently understanding their stories and situations. I become sensitive to the messages written on their faces or caught in an unsure grip, or a tentative nod. The arrogance of demand does not have a place in this kind of a giving attitude.

3. OPENING MYSELF TO WAIT AND ALLOW THE PROCESS TO ROLL

Life and loving are both processes. In my day-to-day interaction, I grow a sensitivity to the process. I watch out. Observe. Feel. Processes happen as people come together, communicate, and take action. I study the responses to gauge the next moves. I recognize the difference between appropriate and inappropriate ones. Proper responses give life. Wrong ones kill. Compassion enables the heart to see and understand the dynamics.

4. PREFERENCE OF OTHERS’ CHOICES OVER MY MY OWN

There are ways for me to interact with others in love. The words I use matter and how I convey my thoughts, the way I look, how I project my thoughts and feelings. The interest of the other should always precede mine. My intent is towards a healthy, life-giving exchange. I do not rattle off my messages and impose my agenda on them. I open myself to hear and understand – holding their inputs with the utmost value and high integrity.

5. LOOKING FOR GRACE AND FINDING THE GOOD IN ALL SITUATIONS

Love goes against the grain of the world. The world always is out to highlight mistakes, destroy, and tear down. Life is about finding the right, building-up, counting my blessings. With what good do I start? What right do I carry? What message do I build on? I am confident about finding good, even in pitch-black darkness. I need only to train my senses. Grace exists in the shattering noise of silence.

In closing, this new year reminds me to be more forgiving and mindful of opportunities. Growing in understanding, learning to wait in patience, and becoming more accepting of others are my daily practices. I meet each day empty-handed, ‘no stick or provision,’ and looking for opportunities to encounter the Christ Child in every ‘birthing.’

Here, Christmas stays!