As we roll into the first week of December, I am now officially feeling the Christmas rush. The malls are now blaring Christmas music everywhere, mostly that of Jose Mari Chan. Decorations in almost every town and city are up. Many of them have lights that blink to the timing of the familiar Christmas carols. It is now indeed Christmas, the season for giving and loving. However, it feels like time has just moved too fast for us to cope with the season.
We move fast to buy gifts for our loved ones and new clothes for our Christmas parties. At the end of the day, have we ever thought to stop and think about what this is all about? The Bible has taught us that Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ in a manger on a cold December night. However, has it made us to be like Jesus in many ways? We have thought of the meaning of the season only up to the fanfare and beautiful lights but however, the message may be more than that.
Recently, photos of children sleeping in the streets of Cebu City made its rounds in social media. The city has yet to comment on the matter but initially, we know that PROBE will keep these children. We want the visitors to see a clean Cebu City. In the previous years, these street children would adhere to the authorities but would always find a way to go back to their old life.
Where is Christmas in all this? Well, it could be giving a helping hand to these people who somehow found their way into the city. On another note, we could go to the extreme of finding them a permanent home to live in with a family, although it would need proper documentation. The thought of doing a move to make these people loved would count as an extra mile this Christmas. I would say we should forget about the fancy dinners and glossy gift wrappers. It's time to focus our attention on people who need our affection more.
There is barely two weeks to go before Christmas and we still have time to do a good turn despite the fact that the days could go by so quickly. If we only take to heart the act of being compassionate then we can have a December filled with good vibes despite the many issues we are facing as a country. At the moment we are on the verge of losing a generation due to vaccines that were approved by the previous administration and are focused on the rebuilding of a city that was torn by war. With love and concrete steps, we can make the bad vibes go away.