Nepal Christmas

Ok more about mountain climbing, I already mentioned that the view from the top is worth the difficult and dangerous climb. Well for one thing you are much closer to the sky above and you can see the stars. Another thing while overlooking the city and sights below the mountain I’m reminded of how God oversees everything we do - the big picture and every little thing in the lives of everyone. All your joys and sorrows, all your good deeds and misdeeds, seen and unseen by men but all seen by God. I met many new people in Nepal and I may not remember all of them in years to come but God knows and remembers.

These are the untold memories of everyone. Meeting and leaving, you may never see them again and so everything and everyday is special and unique. Of course we can try to remember but if you forget, God remembers. Both the people we know and the people we don’t know. With God there is nothing too small that He can’t remember or doesn’t know about.

Then of course there was Christmas service and the main program was the gospel message. What is Christmas to you? Is it just the presents you give and receive? Or is it the decorations and celebrations? I remember once when I was 13-14 years old I was really depressed because seasons like Christmas and Chinese New Year just seemed so vain. It was like I’ll have much fun during the holidays and it’ll seem to pass too fast. Then after it is past, there was no lasting satisfaction and that so called ‘magical feeling’ would be gone. This was the time when I asked my mother why was I born and why did God make me to experience such vanity.

Now I know that there’s really nothing special about 25th Dec of every year, although it is a good opportunity to share the gospel. It is in giving the greatest Gift that Christmas is meaningful and makes everyday of the year special. Christmas is about Christ, not a feeling.

Being in the Christmas season, its inevitable that we went shopping in Nepal. And part of shopping overseas is bargaining because prices would be especially high for tourists like us. Because I didn’t buy much things I was quite free while the others were shopping and God told me that the greatest bargain is once again the Lord Jesus dying on the cross for me a sinner and hence giving me eternal life. The words of the hymn “Amazing Grace” speak much of this.

Amazing grace how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me

I once was lost but now am found

Was blind but now I see

To be continued…