The Child Who Waited for Christmas
The calendar marked December, and with it, his heart beat faster. Every illuminated window was a promise, every ornament a small treasure. For him, Christmas wasn’t just a date; it was an event.
The child would stare at the lights on the tree with wide eyes, as if each bulb held a secret only he could understand. There was a nativity scene in the living room, carefully arranged by his mother, and the Wise Men figurines seemed to move closer to the manger every day.
The house smelled of cinnamon, warm punch, and a mixture of happiness and anticipation that felt almost tangible. The dinners were plentiful, the laughter genuine, and above all, there was something in the air: hope.
But the years passed.
The child grew up, the Wise Men stopped moving, and the nativity scene lost its glow.
The Moment Everything Changed
It wasn’t an exact moment, nor a specific event. It was rather a collection of small things: bills to pay, responsibilities to fulfill, clocks that never seemed to stop ticking.
One Christmas, while watching the tree lights flicker, he felt something missing. He looked around: the table was still full of food, the gifts were still there, but his heart… his heart was silent.
“Is this all there is?” he wondered.
For the first time in his life, the holidays didn’t bring him joy. Instead, they felt exhausting. The cheerfulness seemed forced, like a smile in an old photograph.
The magic had disappeared. Or perhaps, he had stopped looking for it.
The Shadows Behind the Bright Lights
Work piled up. Financial worries became larger than the Christmas ornaments. Dinners were filled with conversations about missed goals, rising costs, and how quickly time was slipping away.
And then he realized something: behind every celebration, there was a shadow.
Christmas was no longer a refuge; it was a performance where every actor had to play their role perfectly. And if someone forgot their line, the curtain would fall.
“Work, money, work, money…” – the words echoed endlessly in his mind.
The child who used to get excited by the tree lights was now an adult staring at his endless to-do list.
An Unexpected Conversation
One random night, just before Christmas, something happened.
He was sitting on the couch, the tree glowing softly in front of him. Beside him sat his young son, his eyes wide open, just like his own used to be at that age.
“Daddy, What is Christmas? ¿Por que is so special?” the boy asked.
He was silent for a moment. The question was so simple, yet so profound.
“Because… because someone thought of us,” he finally replied. “Because someone loved us so much that they decided to come into this world and give us a gift we could never repay.”
The boy nodded, as if that answer completely satisfied him. Then he leaned forward and touched one of the tree lights with the tip of his finger.
“So, Navidad is a gift?”
“Yes,” he said. “It’s the greatest gift of all.”
For a moment, time seemed to stop. In his son’s eyes, he saw a spark reflected—a spark he himself had lost years ago.
I can tell this little story as real because, on that small day in the past, I was the one sitting there. And the little boy asking about Christmas is my son.
Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas
Christmas isn’t about brightly wrapped presents. It’s not about tables overflowing with food or schedules packed with commitments.
Christmas is a reminder. A reminder that someone thought of us, that someone loved us enough to give everything they had.
New Year, on the other hand, is a blank canvas. An opportunity to give thanks, to close chapters, and to look ahead with wide-open eyes and a willing heart.
“Thus far, the Lord has helped us.”
Every year is a mixture of challenges and blessings. But if something remains, if something keeps us standing, it’s the certainty that we are not walking alone.
Hope as a Beacon for Tomorrow
It’s easy to get lost in the noise and artificial lights, but the true magic of these dates lies in something much simpler: sharing.
It’s not just about accumulating, working more hours, or chasing something that never ends. It’s about pausing, even for a moment, and looking around.
Looking at our children, our parents, our friends. Looking with gratitude and with a heart willing to give, not just receive.
Because, as it’s often said:
“Three things will remain: Faith, Hope, and Love. But the greatest of these is Love.”
Love is not a fleeting emotion, nor a pretty word on a greeting card. It’s a daily decision, an act of surrender, and above all, a force that never ceases to exist.
Final Reflection: A New Year, a New Opportunity
The coming year will not be perfect. There will be hard days, moments of doubt, and exhaustion. But there will also be mornings filled with light, unexpected smiles, and small miracles hidden in everyday life.
In the end, what matters is not how much we accumulate, but how much we share. Not how much we work, but how much we love.
And that’s perhaps the greatest lesson we can teach our children:
“That Christmas isn’t about what we receive, but about what we are willing to give.”
And you, where do you find the magic of Christmas?
I invite you to pause and reflect:
- What does Christmas truly mean to you?
- At what moment did you lose, if you ever did, that spark?
- How can you rediscover its true meaning this year?
Sometimes, the answers aren’t in grand speeches but in small moments.
Because, in the end, Christmas isn’t something you find under a tree but within yourself.
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