My Christmas Story of Hardship, Joy, and Magic

My Christmas Story of Hardship, Joy, and Magic

It was the month of December many years ago, the month that most families would arrange for a holiday and have a good time.

Unfortunately, I was going through one of the most difficult times in my life.

I was facing many problems and they were draining me mentally and emotionally.

Still, I had one of the best holidays with my family.

We still talk about it and have so much fun reliving the happy times until today.

That year, I decided to drive my family to Malaysia. It was a trip to nowhere.

We just drove and stopped wherever we felt like stopping.

We planned enough to last until the next place of interest, meal, or toilet break.

Along the way, we created a lot of fun and games to entertain ourselves.

We had great conversations and were sharing jokes and swapping stories.

The highlights of the Liews’ holiday?

We played practical jokes on each other at every given opportunity.

Let me share with you a typical humorous crossfire between my daughters.

In case you don’t know, Elsa is my eldest daughter and is the future Prime Minister. Haha!

Isa who is two years younger will be a future billionaire and she will support me during my retirement days.

Lol!

Please take the following conversation with a pinch of salt.

It was all done in the name of good fun and entertainment.

Elsa: I’m the child that our parents longed for.

You’re an afterthought.

Isa: No, you’re a trial run.

I’m the perfected masterpiece.

Elsa: Daddy and mummy love me more.

Two years more than you.

Isa: Let’s see who lives longer.

Ha!

I used to joke that I spent the first two years of their lives teaching them how to speak.

Now, I have to spend a lifetime teaching them how to zip up.

You can tell we are a family that has a lot of fun – even at each other’s expense but we don’t take it personally.

As someone once wisely said, “Life is too short to take it too seriously.”

If you happened to drive near our car, you might see smiles and maybe, hear roaring laughter.

Every now and then, we would break out into songs.

It was quite funny to see my two young daughters singing the “oldies.”

Once, I asked Elsa, “What if Daddy and Mummy go on a holiday without you?”

She replied instantly, “You will feel very lonely.”

You know what, she’s right.

I told my daughter half in jest, “I wish you will stay with me until you are fifty.

Hopefully, by then, I can handle the loneliness of not having you around.”

When we passed a hotel that caught our attention, we would send Isa to inquire about room rates.

At that point, she was just a little kid, hardly more than 1.2 meter in height.

You can imagine her waddling like a penguin at the reception.

She would put her two hands on the front desk and try to pull herself up to attract more attention.

With a loud voice, she would ask,”How much is your hotel?”

We would have such a good laugh.

Isa would run back and scream at us in ‘Singlish,’ “This hotel is only $200!” There would be another round of laughter.

On Christmas Eve, we drove to Cameron Highland.

All hotel rooms were either booked or priced at exorbitant rates.

We stopped at a local provision shop and asked somebody who looked like the lady boss if she knew of any available room.

She said, “Sure. If you don’t mind, I have a spare room upstairs but it’s not in the best condition.”

“How much do you charge?” I asked.

“For you, 25 ringgits per day.”

She must have seen the strange look on my face and tried to interpret my body language.

Actually, I was trying to hide my surprise at the shockingly low price.

“This is my last price. Take it or leave it.”

In my mind, I was thinking, “Lady, if you have attended my Negotiation Mastery Course, you would have learned that there are more options, like charging me at a higher price.”

We struck a deal that evening.

I did not have a heart to bargain, even for a single cent lower in price.

For her, it was a great deal.

One that was much higher than what the room was worth.

When we saw the room, our hearts should have sunk.

Fortunately, it was not so easy to sink our hearts.

The room was run down to put it in a nice way.

It had one creaky old bed and nothing much to please the eyes.

The greatest shock was to come later.

When we took a shower, we realized the water pipe and shower head was spoilt and water was spurting in all directions.

We had so much fun running around to prevent ourselves from getting wet but to no avail.

What’s worst, the drainage was somehow stuck. Soon, the room was literally flooded.

We had to spend the evening on the bed.

If you had walked into the room, you might think we were on a boat or in a castle surrounded by a shallow moat of murky water.

It was a funny sight.

Earlier on, we had bought toys as Christmas presents for our kids.

We ended up playing with them throughout the night and we had a great time.

When the clock struck twelve, we sang Christmas carols until the wee hours of the morning.

Finally, we fell over each other in a deep slumber.

It was another wonderful Christmas day for the Liew Family.

Since young, I’ve always felt there was magic at Christmas.

Unfortunately, Christmas has become too commercialized and pleasure-centered.

It has become just another reason to party.

Please don’t get me wrong. I’m not a party pooper.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having fun.

In fact, for those who know – nobody parties like me.

Christmas should not just be a holiday, festival, or party time.

It is about a spirit of giving.

Christmas is about our Creator giving His best to you and me.

Your very life is a gift from Him.

In turn, it should also be about you giving your best to others.

When you give your best to others, you enrich your life and bring out the best from yourself.

It unleashes your potential to live at a higher plane in life.

It’s sad we judge life by what we have rather than what we gave.

We measure success by our possessions and not by our contributions.

We are more focused on what we have gotten when we achieved our goal than what we have become as a result of it.

Christmas is about giving yourself to your loved ones.

It’s about letting them know you’re there for them.

Giving yourself is about giving time – not just quality of time but also the right quantity of time.

It’s about giving time to what really counts in eternity.

What really counts oftentimes cannot be counted.

What truly matters may not be made of matter.

Take three of the most valuable gifts as an example. They are love, joy, and peace.

Spread love, joy, and peace to the people around you.

These are life-giving virtues and they can light up the darkness in the world.

When you give to others, you can tap on our Creator’s unlimited reserves of physical, emotional and spiritual wealth.

What you give away will somehow be returned back to you.

Obviously, please don’t do it with any expectation of recognition or reward.

For example, when you share love, you will not have less of it.

In fact, you will have more of it and the love that has been shared will be multiplied many folds and returned back to you.

If you want to experience more joy and peace, you must share them with others.

As I reflect on that Christmas experience, I want to learn how to give and at the same time, share about the gift of giving to my children and to anyone who wants to live a fulfilling life.

My friend, aim to celebrate the Christmas spirit of giving in your heart and live out the spirit throughout the year.

Give before it is too late to give.

Look around you. There are many who are poor, needy and disadvantaged.

If you cannot give to a thousand people, how about giving something of value to just one person today?

How about putting a smile on someone’s face?

Better still, bring a sense of hope and happiness to a family?

Have a blessed Christmas!

Go4It!

I hope this message will find a place in your heart.

By the way, I have also recorded other reflections.

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Life is FUNtastic!