28 Dec White Christmas

I wish you a White Christmas!

I bet that a smile is lingering upon your lips as you read the cliché, chronically overused, sung in every
other Christmas song you hear on the radio. Please, bear with me and read on. White Christmas is
not an accidental phrase this time, actually.

The snow that we dream of so intensely represents a moment of rest to our eyes, tired of ugly
aspects of our immediate surroundings. The truth is that we had been attempting to make them
more beautiful, and it looks like most of that work was in vain. Snow brings relief when we realize
that our efforts were not enough to make the world as clean as we might have wished. The
magnanimous snow comes to cover the lawn destroyed by moles, the uneven coat of paint on the
fence or the worn gangly sticks of plants that used to decorate the garden. Snow makes the contours
gentle. And thus, wrapped in gentleness, we realize that the quiet night of Christmas is upon us.
A Christmas well-lived is like the abundant and magnanimous white snow. It can relax the semi-
permanent grimace of self-will and smooth out the wrinkles that cut deeper every day as we draw
closer to our horizon. We see the evidence of these in both in our own mirror and on the faces of
passers-by. May this Christmas lighten our load and smooth our contours. May it allow us to think
the world anew, fresh.

This is why I wish you a white Christmas. Let the world find you staring at the white hills outside,
relieved and temporarily immune to persistent images of imperfection or flashbacks of tedious pre-
Christmas chores such as brushing the window panes, cutting cabbage leaves or grinding poppy
seeds. May your heart be covered with joyous silence, free of endless to-do lists. May you hang up
light, winged angels above your nativity scene, enabling your thoughts to venture into heaven with
their little wings.

Most importantly, I hope you will have the finest white in your heart, the type of white that no
outdoor landscape can give you, as fabulous as it might be. May your eyes find rest in the little
round white host. May you adore our God in awe and peace, lulled by His presence like a child. Only
He can take our imperfections away and bring peace into the human heart whose daily lot is to be
buffeted about by earthly cares. May we rest in His gentle presence now. And may we remain
immersed in His love long after the white snow of Christmas has covered our last footsteps here on earth.