Looking back on 2014

The Last Sunday of the year found me in church and there I am sitting expectantly waiting for some feel good prosperity preaching. Not to disappoint the pastor started off by saying his message was going to be a prophetic one for the New Year. I sat up eagerly waiting to claim the blessings only that this pastor went into preacher of doom mode talking about the challenges that we would be met with in 2015. Thanks to the coffee I had had earlier courtesy of the good church’s café I managed to stay awake through the sermon and it is a good thing I did, cause right at the end before wrapping up ,pastor Prophet of Doom took on an overcoming approach and there and then everything he had said made sense. The world will never be without challenges but as long as I lean on my savior Jesus Christ I’m assured of everything good or bad working out for me.

To bring it home I have been reflecting on 2014 as a whole, and my my it had some good, bad and ugly all rolled in one.

Remember the hash tag  #Bring Back Our Girls,  the hash  tags went around like crazy creating awareness to the issue however that didn’t bring back the girls and somehow the story did die out with an almost happy ending of 3 girls out of the 300 kidnapped finding their way home.

Ebola claiming 7k plus lives and just when I though the worst is over, a case was confirmed in Glasgow. Sadly 1 person in the west getting Ebola gets mores newsflash than the 7000 in Africa, not forgetting the many children who have been orphaned due to the epidemic.

 Lupita Nyongó beating Julia Roberts to wins an Oscar for best supporting actresses, oh that was a good one and it just went on to show that once God lifts you up there is nothing that can stand in your way coz suddenly there she was gracing People’s magazine as the Most beautiful woman when I had long started to believe the media that real black beauty was Beyoncé’s shade.

Planes vanishing off the face of the earth in this world of Big brother; and just as we were starting to forget about the Malaysian flight there went Air Asia… When I heard the news I prayed that plane would be found  regardless of whether it was at bottom of sea or not coz that is sure better than not knowing at all.

And then there  was me; started  2014 in the usual style very expectant but  with no resolutions( I don’t like the extra pressure that comes with the new year to do lists)Naturally I had prayer requests and a vision , one does need one in order not to perish like the good book says. I saw some of my prayer requests materialize into yeses, and others warm up the wait seats while others clearly blinked back with the answer as a clear NO. Ailments that I had never expected to knock on my door, (duh like anyone expects medical conditions) stayed giving me a run for my money. Yet looking back at everything I can say it was a good year, I was blessed, grew wiser or so I think and am not only still standing but dreaming away. Building castles in the air afterall doesn’t cost anything and right now as I close my eyes, Life is a beach- roll on 2015.

CHRISTMAHANUKWANZAKAH

And Then There was -CHRISMAHANUKWANZAKAH

Growing up Christmas was this extra special time, not because we got presents but because everyone took a break to celebrate the birth of the savior. Yes, trees were decorated and cards exchanged, as part of the festivities we all got new dresses and could drink as much soda as we wanted. In preparation for  the King’s birthday , carols were sang and it was a priviledge to be part of the choir, the songs sounded so heavenly and even now so many years on I always try to play as many Christmas songs as soon as December knocks on the door. A  Christmas Cantata show was put on and cast with full light effects for 10 days before Christmas as a gift to the town from an English speaking church in the center of the city .I still don’t know what the word Cantata means ,for me it means long queues and a new twist to portraying the meaning of the birth of Jesus each different year that left you in awe and  for the years I haven’t attended a Cantata show I still get very nostalgic and terribly miss home.  Christmas even back then was in every way a family holiday with everything that was done drawing back attention to the birth of this baby King born in a manger for the sole purpose of redeeming the world.

Some of the Images from the Watoto Church Cantata shows over the years.

 Fast forward to the 21^st century, thedot.com era masked with being politically correct more than being truthful,  I come across the word, Christmahankwanzakah. I’m not even sure that is a legit word but I first came across it in a work email that mobilized everyone around the holiday season.

With every core in me I’m as pluralistic as can me but I can’t for the life in me figure out why 3 holidays have to mess with a beautiful thing like Christmas all in the name of being inclusive. The Hannukah holiday I had come across some years ago and totally respect and understand how it can fall anytime from November to December but still don’t see why it has to be combined Christmas as it is celebrating something totally different . Kwanza - until this month I knew Kwanza only as a Swahili word  meaning first, I at one time told a friend of mine it would be a good name for a first borne since she was looking for African names. Well now I know there is also a Kwanza holiday, celebrated between December 26- January 1 to honor African heritage in African American culture. I say all good intentions but no business messing around with my Christmas.To make peace with all this and not dawn the holiday cheer going around I remembered a message back from the many Christmas celebrations over the years that centered on the fact that yes we celebrate every 25^th December that a savior had been born to save us but this was 2000 years ago and instead of celebrating this core fact just one day in a year, we had to celebrate  it each and every day we are here .  So yes , I choose to embrace the chrismahanukwanzak in my midst this year because I will be celebrating the birth of my savior every day.And while I do that here are some facts I learnt around from my work team that I must salute for involving everyone the best way they could during this Christmas season, or should I say holiday season before someone shoots.

>The  top 10  American Christmas Traditions, Decorating the tree, displaying lights, hanging stockings, making cookies, drinking eggnog(attending parties, watching movies, shopping, sending Christmas cards, caroling

 >The world’s largest Christmas present was the Statue of Liberty.The French gave it to the US in 1886. It is 46.5 meters high and weighs 225 tons!

>  Kwanzaa was created by Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966 to celebrate family, culture and heritage, and is modeled after the first harvest celebrations in Africa.The first US postage stamp to commemorate Kwanzaa was issued in 1997. There have been 4 designs released since then, the most recent being in 2013.

>  Written records don’t really indicate how the tradition of Christmas Stockings got started, but there are several legends surrounding this tradition.  The most trustworthy legend maintains that Saint Nicholas learned about a poor man who couldn’t afford a dowry for his three daughters, and he was worried about them.  Saint Nicholas decided to help the man, and he too three bags of gold with him down the chimney to the man’s home.  Once inside, he found the girl’s stockings hanging on the mantelpiece after washing, and he added the gold bags to the stockings and then went about his Christmas Eve rounds. As the story spread, children began hanging their own stockings or putting out shoes, waiting for their own gifts. Usually they used their own socks, but later, specially decorated stockings were created for the holiday.

>  All letters addressed to Santa in the United States go to Santa Claus, Indiana.

Merry Christmas and a Happy Blessed 2015.