Friday 8 November 2013

The perfect recipe for a merry Christmas...


The Perfect Recipe for a Merry Christmas...
The weather is slowly changing, the dry, hot air is gradually giving way to a lingering cold after several rain storms that cleansed the air of the humidity. I sighed contentedly as i slung my school back over my shoulder and prepared to walk across the dew-soaked field in front of my grand mother's hut to our local school...

This is a fading memory from my childhood, every time i remember it, it brings just one season to mind; harmattan! the Christmas season. even though the weather during this time is merciless(dry, cold and dusty) it is my favorite time of the year. Why you ask? well..
Not only do I get off from school then, I get to play as much as I can and it was the only time my wonderful parents could afford to buy me a brand new dress! And shoes! Ah I miss those childhood days of innocence, when things were simpler, life was full of promises and you just lived to eat, sleep and play(sounds like a popular movie right?)

Nowadays, well, one is busy, sometimes you don't even get time off from work and enjoy the holiday, you just shoulder on, and while the year winds down, you're already making plans for the next year, no breaks, no time to stop and smell the coffee. You have bills to pay, mouths to feed, and your once favorite time of the year is now your worst because its the period when more things remind you of how much time you've spent and how little you've achieved! It is the period when you spend more money on gifts, for the kids, the occasional hubby or lover, the in laws you cant even stand, the colleagues, the boss's wife (hopefully it will help when you're asking for that salary increase in the upcoming year!) the pastor, your church prayer partner, your siblings and on and on it goes....
The last person you add to that list, that is if you ever do, is the person that deserves the gift the most; YOU!
But after spending so much, you decide to hold off on buying that new purse or giving yourself that spa treatment because it just not worth it! Well I'm calling it!
Because you will enter into the next year, miserable, bitter and ungrateful!
So, this Christmas, my recipe for you is this;

1. 12 cups of reflection;
2. 5tbs of mistakes;
3. 12 cups of gratitude
4. 1 generous prayer of thanksgiving
5. 1 hot plate of positive attitude
Go back to the first month of the year, go month after month and reflect on the goodness of God in your life. Those daily things you take for granted, after mixing all that in the big bowl called the mind add five tbs of mistakes, remember five things you didn't do well or that you could have done better, remember, don't dwell on them, just remember and move on, now add your 12 cups of gratitude to the mix, remember you're still alive and that means there's hope! Even though you haven't met all your goals, you have achieved something this year; staying alive(something alot of people that died cannot boast of!)
Now you're almost done with your mix, add a good prayer of thanksgiving to God and you're done! Thank Him for what He accomplished in your life and thank Him, for what you labeled setbacks, Thank Him in advance for the upcoming year and thank Him that you have people around you, because so many are lonely and alone, but you're not. Then serve this wonderful, mouthwatering dish with a positive attitude. There! You have the perfect Christmas and you're ready to face the challenges and blessings of the new year.

Go ahead, try it!
Ciao