Christmas!

One day as we were driving in the car in early December, Fei Fei asked me how many days to Christmas. I decided to do a counting game with her. I told her that, from the day we were in, there would be 18 more days to Christmas. 

"How many more days to Christmas if it is tomorrow?" I asked. 

"17 more days!"

"Good job!" Very surprised that she could answer that, I went on to ask, "how about from the day after tomorrow -- how many days are there left to Christmas?"

"16 more days!"

"What about from the day after the day after tomorrow?" I asked one more time.

"Christmas!" She shouted excitedly. We all had a good laugh, and from that point on, shouting "Christmas" randomly became a fun game for her.

For some reason this year I was more excited to decorate our home than previous years. On one Sunday afternoon I solicited Fei Fei's help for the task, who was more than eager to participate. We pull out the little tree and the ornaments from the basement that were packed away in boxes. These ornaments came from good friends and from my Dad, who used to work as a designer in a Christmas ornament company when he first came to Hong Kong in the early 1980s. He made many musical instruments and musical notes. Last year when he and my mom came to visit, he donated the lei that he received as a gift from Hawaii to our tree as well.  He designed a sculpture of Dr. Sun Yat Sen, the Father of Modern China, for the city of Honolulu to be placed in a memorial park near Chinatown, and in November last year my parents went to Hawaii for the opening ceremony. Dr. Sun Yat Sen received his democratic influence in Hawaii during his teenage years before he returned to China to complete his mission for a revolutionary new China.

So the tree has become a giant souvenior display of many places from many people.

"I remember how Daddy did this last year," Fei Fei said as she maneuvered the tree branches, "and I can do it all by myself."

We used to string the lights around the tree, but this year I wanted to string them along the walls of the house. There were pretty blue and white lights. As Fei Fei was putting the tree and the ornaments up, I was standing on a stool hanging the lights close to the ceiling. I wanted to be reminded again about the lights I saw in a vision when I first came to know Jesus ... 

I was staying in a community house, The Dock, during the Sophomore winter break. I was taking an English class to fulfill the general requirement. On this particular evening, I was sitting in the kitchen writing letters, while some people were playing worship songs in the living room. As I was listening to them singing, I could feel the loneliness inside my heart. All that I was experiencing in my life up to that point -- loneliness, fear, stress -- became that much more pronounced in the atmosphere of worship. All of a sudden, I felt that I saw thousands of candles lit up around the kitchen ceiling; the warmth, the light that beamed from them was so attractive to me. As one of the people came into the kitchen to get a drink, I couldn't wait to ask where their joy came from. Later on it became a lengthy discussion and answer session about my doubts for years. That night I came to know the source of that light for the first time.

After all these years, I felt the need to once again remind myself, and now also to my children, the wonder when I first saw the light...

"At the cross, at the cross

where I first saw the Light

And the burdens of my heart rolled away

It was there by faith

I received my sight

And now I am happy all the day"... as the famous hymn sings.

May we welcome Christ like little children, counting down to the days to celebrate His birth. May we never grow tired to come, to the feet of the source of all joy and grace -- the light of the world. May his glory and radiance push away all darkness and shine brightly in our hearts and minds. 

Merry Christmas.