Give Hope On Christmas Day

Hello to all Steemians!

This is my 2k words blog entry for the contest conducted by sir @long888 and with a special participation of our very generous friend - @paradise-found .

Give Hope On Christmas Day

The air is full of Christmas carols with rhyming smiles and waves of laughter everywhere. As I took a stroll around the city of Manila, the town itself reveals lustrous windows full of sparkling holiday decorations and clinquant red ribbons around the city. Swaying twinkling Christmas lights on refreshing huge trees and whether you are a holiday kind of a person or not, loves lots of glitterings candles or not, the birth of our Almighty God's son, Jesus Christ, is celebrated by many with full of happiness, faith and love, embrace it!

While the whole world is commemorating the entire week with the preparation of the most awaited season of the year, still, a total number of people around the world is not exempted from heartache this season. For many of us also are in pain, flooded with such personal reasons behind every aching hearts. Perchance, a memory of a certain person with his or her loved one in heaven or maybe some financial concerns that hunt her or his mind or any other personal concerns.

For pain does not only lies from the past but also in our daily existence; Discouragement and trials will always be around the corner but it can't stop us from believing; For pain doesn't pause our life for a few days or for awhile, it is us that control our life.

And as for me, having the very first Christmas away from home and away from my baby girl for the very first time is truly not that easy! Also, it is my first time being away from her for a long period of time. Now I know how it feels to work abroad with a maximum of working contract for two years or more maybe! And can you imagine that I only need to separate from my baby for only one week, how much more if I work abroad! And that is why I am giving my noblest salute to all OFW out there who are working so hard for there families and sacrificing a lot for them to bring the bacon home on a merry Christmas Eve. I am so proud of you guys! ( special shout to: @long888 @algergio @geejay.rivera @haiville @karlosuno.matas and many more!) Nevertheless, I must say my thankful thoughts to the maker of skype and internet services for I can easily video chat my baby girl and my husband from the other side of the world. So there's no such reason I will not celebrate and be thankful for all my blessings this Christmas.

So, no matter what pain is aching inside your heart this Christmas season, you can still choose to let yourself pick up the best opportunity to be your guide as you struggle life's roller coaster ride of modification. Consider your family and friends that are counting on you these holiday season. And through God's given experiences, your loved ones can also benefit from the words of encouragement you will gonna share someday or even at this very moment. In addition to, this kind of downfall will surely give inspiration to many people as long as you hold onto your faith. And through this difficulty I am having right now, I am confident enough that all of these will be through in no time because I have my family and friends with me through this journey and most of all, God.

I would like to share these books of encouragement to you all guys for these are also the stuff that helps me get through my aches.

When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you. Psalm 34:18

Tough times are part of our lives no matter what we do and through these tough times, we are getting closer to God more, as long as we call onto Him and ask for strength to endure the aches we are experiencing. And as we allow that dark season to push us down to our knees, we will eventually determine that we are not paddling through this big mountain of hardship alone. Our God is always there beside us every step of our way. He is there somewhere out there enlivening our faith, strengthening our will and lifting our spirits. And while beseeching the mystery of the rosary just a couple of days ago and as I started the journey of spiritual healing and giving myself the heavenly refuge I can offer, I uncover something amazing! I uncover that when Jesus Christ was born on Christmas Day, Joseph and Mary did not plan any gender reveal party, nor had baby shower surprises and most of all Jesus was not born on a hospital with medical staff taking good care of their needs and with good accommodation. And the sure thing also, at that moment, riding a donkey on a middle of nowhere intuitively is not Mary's last wish on her last trimester of pregnancy. Still and all, Mary delivered Jesus safely without any hesitations and complaints. The point I am aiming to deliberate is that we need to comprehend and correlate the struggle they have experienced and the comfort we have now. We need to take importance to the idea that Jesus was born in a manger in an unsuitable accommodation and that is in contrast what we are having on Christmas Eve in our homes, a table full of delicious food. I am not saying that it is bad to have a grandiose Christmas celebration, I am saying that it is His birthday and we must not forget to pray and give thanks to all the blessings we received, including the delicious foods in our table, good health and keeping our loved ones safe all the time. It is His birthday and it is us who must give the sacrifices He deserves and not us who keeps on praying for something materialistic to receive because it is Christmas. Christmas is Jesus's big day and in His big day, he would like to see us praying, sharing and loving each other genuinely.

Two years ago on a middle of the month March, I just unwrapped one of the best gifts I have ever had in my entire life. And that gift I am talking about is my baby girl. My baby girl brought so much joy in our family, she is also one of the reasons my family is keeping the faith strong and not giving up to all the trials we are experiencing. And even though I can't be with her on Christmas Eve, still, I am grateful enough that she is healthy, strong and happy all the time. Seeing her smiles and giggles through Skype is enough for me to be thankful and be merry this Christmas season! For we all know children our one great happiness initiator and through there genuine emotions we can see a never-ending loop of hope.

As Christmas Eve fast approaching, I am here in my single room on a hotel, sitting for a while now while looking at my laptop screen and keeping my senses well-focus as my positive apprehensions run through me. I have noticed that Advent season is about to end drawing near to the ever awaited celebration of the year and most of all His arrival is approaching too. Christmas Day is just a couple of days away and this holiday season gives me mixed emotions as I long for a good news this coming weeks and months. Hope is still on the rise as well as faith. Hoping and celebrating His big day is my way of celebrating Christmas. And as Jesus Christ was born on this earth defenseless on a manger, He demonstrated that hope was in Him and hope is stronger than any trials.

Hope is a word that formulates a variety of emotions to all of us. But when discouragements and failures overwhelm us too much, hope is being dashed off eventually; hijacked by tears, pinched by pain and replaced with disappointments. However, when hope rises like a beautiful sunrise we then become advocates of positivism and eventually the flouter routine is gone and happy words of God deciding to sprout like a beautiful beginning.

I have talked about hope in my previous blog post and how to pursue hope despite every dark cloud of discouragements. And with this blog too, I am continuing what I have started because in this way I can showcase to all that Christmas Day is not only about fancy jewelry gifts and big sized box gift. Christmas Day is all about giving hope and sharing them with everyone who needs it and might need it too. For the reason that hoping is not expecting for anything that may mean nothing unexpectedly, but the hope I am talking is equivalent to Christmas Day. And reminding everyone that this word goes far beyond any wish list, hope is much more than that. Hope is about having a strong faith by not expecting something grandiose but by trusting Him, no matter what happens. Hope is the expectation of things without worrying something. Knowing that God is the main anchor of our soul and His coming will secure our pains.

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes...And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth. Revelation 21:3-4

Have you ever played a jigsaw puzzle? Well as for me, I received my first jigsaw puzzle on a Christmas Day from my school's yearly end Christmas party and I just can't remember who gave it to me. All I remember was that my first try of solving my first jigsaw puzzle was such an overwhelming and stressful task as I put all the pieces together accordingly. And as what the cover box would tell, those peculiarly shaped pieces would somehow form a bigger and more concise image. And as a beginner playing a jigsaw puzzle, finding the exact pieces to fit another piece was a struggle for me. It was not that easy for me but as I keep on looking the picture on the cover box, hope wonderfully gave me the reason for me to finish the puzzle. And as I continue hoping that I will finish it, something amazing happened! Two pieces finally matched and eventually a third piece and the fourth piece! My hope rises higher with every piece that fell into the right place. And just what the cover box promised, an almost clearer view image appeared! By that time I can't wait for the puzzle to be completed. And with my first jigsaw puzzle on a Christmas Day, I have learned that life can be stuffed with struggles at many times, but we can still stop to remember and encouraged ourselves that hope is just lurking inside us and we are capable of unleashing our hope through believing in God. And as all the pieces fit together, life will surely become a wonderful adventure, the adventure that is fully packed with hope, faith, and love. This blessed journey of ours will emerge a unique and special image someday.

Living life tandem with God doesn't buy us the insurance for being free from pain and miseries. But with God, He will guarantee us that we will able to thrive from every trial life gives us and a stronger person than we are yesterday will emerge confidently, full of hope and with a much stronger faith. And regardless of the trials we all facing this holiday season, the gift we all need most is hope. And in defiance of the tough circumstances we are facing, God's plan is still the best plan for all of us. He loves us too much that He gave us struggles for us to become stronger for the days coming ahead. And no matter how painful the ache is or how long we all have been waiting for our prayers to come true, Christmas Day is the right time to strengthen our faith because this is the day Jesus brought hope and healed the entire world. And with this, let us celebrate his birthday with hope!

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ═══

For more blogs of mine click this LINK!

════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ═══

I am encouraging everyone to kindly vote & support @surpassinggoogle
By typing @steemgigs as your witness

════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ═══

If you find something awesome about this post you can surely resteem it.
You can also join our ever supportive group the ‘STEEMITACHIEVERS’ on Discord just click the link below
STEEMITACHIEVERS DISCORD

════ ∘◦ 🌸 deeday31 🌸◦∘ ═══