This has been my second Christmas in Cambodia and with the longs for home mounting up in the days leading up to the festive day I knew I needed to do something fun and make the most of what I have here in Cambodia.
And boy have I been blessed with a lot here. Not only do I have an awesome family of friends, some of which I shared my Christmas lunch with, I also had access to the most sublime food in a gorgeous setting and had access to Internet for a long distant Christmas call.
But honestly when we strip away the commercialism, the large servings of food, the trees, laughter and twinkly lights, what is Christmas all about? When you're away from home and under the cloud of loneliness you realise more and more how precious the gift of Jesus is and the hope that it brings to a hopeless world.
There is so much brokenness, sadness, hurt and greed that we live in the middle of, and no sugarcoated festivity can cover up the fact that we are a broken people, and we need salvation. The fact that God could love us so much that He came down, born as a baby, to do life and to die so we might live forever – well that’s what Christmas is about. I want to discover joy in that fact and that alone, rather than reflecting on what I am missing out by being far from home. Jesus came – Emmanuel God with us! That beats anything else this Christmas!
