Holiday Recap
Ever wondered what India is like during the Holidays? Well, beside the occasional rendition of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer containing references to Gandhi, it's pretty much like every other day in India. No cold weather, no hot chocolate, no obsession with Christmas presents, No Christmas music in every store, no red and green themed everything, and no ball drop on New Years. Life in India marches on as normal with little concern for what the Western world deems the biggest holiday of the year. For all the things that India didn't have during the Holiday season, it provided something just as important as all of those things combined....perspective. In the weeks leading up to December 25th, I spent a lot of my time putting on Christmas activities for various groups and orphanages. During the Christmas season it is easy to do the things that bring personal enjoyment, time with family, Christmas parties, stuffing your face with whatever indulgence is placed in front of you, Christmas presents, taking a holiday from work and using that time for personal rest and enjoyment. There was, however, one thing starring me in the face this Christmas. My time is not my own, my life is not my own, selfishness is not ok, and there are people who literally have nothing. With every parentless, HIV infected child I met, it became more and more apparent that although my desire was to rest and feed my need for the "holiday spirit," the children sitting in front of me had no idea what the "holiday spirit" even felt like. They didn't have parents making the holidays special, they've never made gingerbread houses, skipped school to bake cookies and watch Christmas movies, they've never come down the stairs to a Christmas tree packed with presents. The kids in front of me were happy to have four random visitors show up to play on the playground with them for one hour. They were happy that someone from the outside world had come to bring them a piece of candy. A set of arms to hold them and give them attention was enough, and likely, it was all they would ever get and the most they could ever expect. It's a bleak picture that challenged every fiber of selfishness within me. Humanity, its a tough thing to watch in a tough and unforgiving country. Thank God that, in Christ, there is hope for everything.
Ever wondered what India is like during the Holidays? Well, beside the occasional rendition of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer containing references to Gandhi, it's pretty much like every other day in India. No cold weather, no hot chocolate, no obsession with Christmas presents, No Christmas music in every store, no red and green themed everything, and no ball drop on New Years. Life in India marches on as normal with little concern for what the Western world deems the biggest holiday of the year. For all the things that India didn't have during the Holiday season, it provided something just as important as all of those things combined....perspective. In the weeks leading up to December 25th, I spent a lot of my time putting on Christmas activities for various groups and orphanages. During the Christmas season it is easy to do the things that bring personal enjoyment, time with family, Christmas parties, stuffing your face with whatever indulgence is placed in front of you, Christmas presents, taking a holiday from work and using that time for personal rest and enjoyment. There was, however, one thing starring me in the face this Christmas. My time is not my own, my life is not my own, selfishness is not ok, and there are people who literally have nothing. With every parentless, HIV infected child I met, it became more and more apparent that although my desire was to rest and feed my need for the "holiday spirit," the children sitting in front of me had no idea what the "holiday spirit" even felt like. They didn't have parents making the holidays special, they've never made gingerbread houses, skipped school to bake cookies and watch Christmas movies, they've never come down the stairs to a Christmas tree packed with presents. The kids in front of me were happy to have four random visitors show up to play on the playground with them for one hour. They were happy that someone from the outside world had come to bring them a piece of candy. A set of arms to hold them and give them attention was enough, and likely, it was all they would ever get and the most they could ever expect. It's a bleak picture that challenged every fiber of selfishness within me. Humanity, its a tough thing to watch in a tough and unforgiving country. Thank God that, in Christ, there is hope for everything.
