He had been in a gloomy, despondent, unpredictable mood all-day and he knew his wife and children had tiptoed warily around him. He busied himself in the garage sorting the shelves, rearranging items, taking them down, and putting them back, in exactly the same place. His wife had been busy inside making cookies and cupcakes with her two young helpers. It was Christmas Eve, 2023, a time for peace on earth and goodwill to all.
It had been quite the year, a new variant of Covid had emerged and the country was in lockdown restrictions once again, inflation was running at 15% annually, his five-year mortgage at 1.6% had matured and he had renewed for one year at 10.5% and as if it couldn’t get any worse Russia had launched a tactical nuclear strike on Ukraine in anger as it withdrew troops from its last foothold in Crimea. The world was now waiting for NATO’s response to this extreme provocation. No wonder his mood was foul.
The kids were finally in bed, milk and cookies left for Santa, it was midnight, his wife was wrapping presents, and he had retreated once again to the garage, Cuban cigar in hand, a selfish Christmas present in his hour of need. It was a cold, crisp star-filled night as he reflectively stared at the heavens’, puffing on his cigar and sipping from his glass of spiced rum. Was there really a God looking down on him, did God even exist, if not who was responsible for creating this chaos of existence. He continued to puff and to sip and to gaze at the stars and to drink in the majesty of the universe.
He began to relax, his soul finding a semblance of peace, “I am a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars” words from Desiderata came flooding into his consciousness. He continued to gaze at the stars and visualized that night in Bethlehem where that bright shining star shone on the babe in the manger. It was then that the tears came, a trickle, then a flood, and he wept, even though he didn’t know why he wept. Christmas comes, a time of hope, of peace, of expectation for a better tomorrow. Peace on earth and goodwill to all.
Lensdiary 
Amen! This is the power of gratitude.
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Thanks, Reena. Getting in the Christmas spirit.
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Reblogged this on Reena Saxena and commented:
Christmas 2023 —- by Len
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Thanks, Reena.
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In the middle of our turmoil, our dear Lord finds us, gives us a peace that the world, even our loved ones cannot. Visceral writing, Len, the story so accessibly rendered. And the ending one that made me recall these verses from a Christmas hymn:
“How silently, how silently,
the wondrous gift is giv’n!
So God imparts to human hearts
the blessings of his heav’n.
No ear may hear his coming,
but in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive him, still
the dear Christ enters in.”
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“Where meek souls will revere him”, we come to God humble of heart, always promising to do better. Thanks for sharing, Dora.
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that was such a soul treat, Len. reading into it, you feel this tightness within and as you read on through, it loosens and loosens until finally all is soothing. thanks for the great write up.
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Thanks, Audrine, there’s nothing like looking up into the heavens and viewing the myriad of stars to give you that feeling of awe.
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He asks the same question as I do in these troubled times. May his wish for peace on earth and goodwill to all come about, one day.
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Thanks, Keith. I think we all ask the same questions. Yes indeed, peace on earth in our lifetime.
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This flowed like warm milk and honey. A beautiful write, Len, with a profound message. These are indeed troubling times. 🕊️
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Well thank you for that nice comment young lady, and yes they are indeed troubling times. But hope springs eternal.
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Oh, enjoy reading your Christmas post. I have seen many of my friends converted to Christianity in the past ten years. I secretly guessed that it is because they can have bigger after-church parties. It seems that in the Asian community here, it is the best way to socialize and to gossip and to get job info and to get best child care etc. I am the rare holdout right now.
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That’s where the Catholics are doing it right. When you move to a new neighborhood, all you have to do is visit the nearest Catholic Church to get to know your neighbours. Though in discussion with a priest once he said the biggest problem in big cities is to bring people together as they acted as strangers and the biggest problem in rural areas was to stop the gossip because they knew everyone’s business a little too much. There’s a fine balance somewhere.
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Merry Christmas Mr. Len!!! Great story.
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Thank you, Gary, and Merry Christmas to you and your family.
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