| COMMENTARIES | I wonder at the places Christ has taken me BY SANDY ROWLAND
 The Christmas season is upon us. The shopping list hangs on the refrigerator while unbaked cookies rest on the inside shelf. Time flutters by as we run the race to have everything done by the circled date on the calendar: December 25.
I decided two years ago that I would not play the race game anymore. As I venture into the department stores and the mall I barely see any indication of why we celebrate Christmas. Where is Jesus?
I take the Christmas season as a time to reflect on the past year, to think of those who have touched my life, to wonder at the places Christ has taken me and the people I have met along the way.
Christmas is about letting the Christ child change your heart to make you a more caring and loving person, reaching out to those in need. Being a part of the Volunteers in Mission movement has given me a
chance to take that love of Christ, and reach out to the untouchable and to help those who are hurting.
In 2001 I went to Bosnia with a work team to build a playground in Bojelo Polje. I went with the anticipation of really connecting with the people there who were mostly Muslim. That happened, but not as deeply as I wanted it to.
We had the opportunity to speak with a womens group that met once a week and talk about many subjects. The women were trying very hard to help make their town a better place and to recover from the years of war. They helped those who were sick and the widows who were trying to go on without their husbands. I too felt their pain; my husband had died in an automobile accident along with his father six years ago.
They were just getting to
know us and to feel comfortable with our presence when we had to leave.
I returned in 2002 with another team, and this year it happened. We once again had the womens group meeting and as we shared I noticed one of the women was a little upset. I was told it was the anniversary of her husbands death that very day; it had been nine years. She had also lost a young son in the war. I went to her and through our interpreter told her I too had lost a husband and could feel her pain.
In that instant we hugged and cried together. We were just two women who came from different parts of the world who could reach out to each other in our time of grief. Even though the years had passed, the pain still remained. I treasure that moment. It is one of the highlights of the year.
Because of connectedness and love I feel for the people of Bosnia, I will be going back in early May and staying until Aug. 1 to work with the women and children in Bojelo Polje. Two teams from our conference are planning on coming to work on UMCOR projects while I am there.
Thats what Christmas is all about: not going out and spending all that money on things. Thats just stuff.
Why not take the time to pray to Jesus and ask him how to celebrate his birthday. There are so many lonely people out there, unnoticed and crying out for help. Lets take this Christmas season and not be so obsessed with getting but with giving. May we all have a change of heart this Christmas season as we celebrate Christs birth.
Merry Christmas.
Sandy Rowland is the coordinator for Frederick District Volunteers in Mission. |
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