42 GENERATIONS
It's that time of year again! Mariah has ushered us into the season and screamed the ever famous "it's time...!!!". If you are like me, you were playing Christmas carols during the summer, so your playlist is probably all Christmas tunes now, with a little Afrobeat here and there for the plot you know :) Corporate calendars are ripe with weird "office Christmas parties" or News Year's parties where you go practice a few fake smiles in hopes of getting a promotion in the coming year and don't get me started on that dreadful white elephant gift exchanges. Let's just say I believe in genuine gift giving. Your Amazon cart is probably full of Christmas gifts for various family members and friends and considering inflation, you maybe reconsidering how many gifts you were intending to get. Probably somewhere in your mind, "they will understand if I don't get them anything; it's been a tough year". As my adult brain tracks back and forth in one or more of these aforementioned activities and thought processes, it cannot help but think to a simpler time celebrating Christmas during my early years of life.
Christmas in Ghana was quite simple. As a child, I looked forward to all the mini shopping sprees my mum would go on with us to the market; getting us new dresses, shoes and white socks which we would wear on Christmas Sunday. Lunch for Christmas was usually some version of Jollof rice paired with chicken. Mind you, chicken for Christmas was the treat of the year. If you were lucky, you may get the chicken thigh and that maybe your fondest core memory of the year. I was usually bald-headed the whole year but one Christmas, my mum took us to get our hair braided and as a little girl, it felt like such a luxurious spa experience even though it was nothing close to that! We would visit extended family and hang with cousins sometimes, but what made Christmas extra special was always the new clothes and shoes I got to wear to church. The fashion statement was a new dress definitely with some shoulder pad, paired with a lace white socks and black shoes. Why we were made to wear white socks in > 90 degrees weather will forever be lost on me 😅. As a little girl, that was mini-Paris fashion week for me, with the debut of that new outfit on Sunday being the highlight of my week!
With Christmas approaching in a week, I am looking forward to the Christmas lights on the streets and a little consumerism. I am also wary of over-spending this time of year since my love for Christmas shopping may need a little deliverance, and I generally struggle with how Christmas is heavily marketed as a time to overspend by western corporations. So, I have set a goal for myself to buy one dress and nothing else and so far, let's just say, I have stuck to this mantra. It's the 17th so I guess we are making progress 😊. Or I maybe counting my chickens before they hatch! Who knows, I may report during next month's blog that I did in fact succumb to the stronghold of American consumerism! I also would like to be conscientious this Christmas season to reading about the story of Christmas in the gospels more thoroughly and study the text in detail across the four books. There was a Christmas about a decade ago when I did that and was so encouraged by the revelation I received. I decided then that I would make this a Christmas tradition of reading about the birth of Christ as recorded in the gospels every Christmas season. However, I have not been diligent about it in the last 5 years or so. Did you know that from the time of Adam to Jesus was exactly 42 generations? This is recorded in Matthew 1: 17. I had read Matthew quite a number of times prior to reading that but had never taken notice of that piece of biblical history so I was excited to learn it! There have been other amazing things I have learned during those times when I would commit to reading through the Christmas story for myself during the season. So, I read Matthew 1 yesterday and reading through all of Jesus' descendants was long, but I am glad I was able to read it through to the end.
I would like to encourage you to read the Christmas story on your own this season. I am sure there is something the Lord will show you or reveal to your heart about his birth that will encourage your heart and strengthen your faith. My plan is to read Matthew chapters 1-2, Luke Chapters 1-2 and for a bonus, John chapter 1, which is not specifically about the Christmas story, but I believe is important to Jesus' coming on earth. My goal is to reread these chapters over and over and sit with the Lord to see what new thing he wants me to learn this Christmas season. If you decide to take on this challenge, share what new thing you learn or how it blesses you in the comments; I'll make sure to do the same. I will still go see the beautiful Christmas lights, spend time with family and enjoy some good food because it is still the "most wonderful time of the year". Hey, I may even mess around and do a little shopping for the plot! While still keeping a reasonable budget in mind because..adulting!😄 My hope is to keep the season, fun and enjoyable but to still keep Jesus as the reason for my season! Until next month, enjoy the season and Merry Christmas🌲.
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