Monday, December 04, 2006 Need to be born By Leticia Suarez-Orendain
DECEMBER is all about being born.
It starts nine months before December with the conception of a child and months that follow, a time for the child to silently grow in the warm womb where the conditions are ideal and perfect.
Because of the length of waiting for the child to be born, the day of birth is always met with jubilation. Among movie stars, and prominent figures in society, the birth of an offspring warrants no less than a television announcement or at least a newspaper notice.
Not so with the birth of Jesus Christ. It went by without fanfare or even a first hint of his existence from the village gossip. Except for some shepherds out in the pasture, who learned of this significant event from a messenger angel, the birth of Jesus was unnoticed by the world.
No one really knows when Jesus was born although most scholars know when the tradition of celebrating Christmas begun. They believe it started in the 4th century as a Christian substitute for pagan celebrations of the winter solstice.
Whether it is the historical date of birth of our Lord or not, what matters is there was an Immanuel (God with us) born in our midst. The need for Him to be born was essential to man’s redemption.
As a reflection of this season of loving and giving, a thought arises: There are many ways we can give birth.
There is a birth that happens in the spirit and that is when we let Jesus enter our lives as our Savior. However, we need to be born in other ways.
We need to give birth to our desire for peace. Peace springs from the heart, so be sure there is no shadow of hatred and no cobwebs of grudges in there. You don’t have to be a member of a peace treaty to get started. It starts in your own environment—the house, the office, the neighborhood—when you forgive the person who bad-mouthed you, ridiculed you, cursed you.
Peace is an act of approaching the person who wronged you. It is a daily effort to ignore the arrows that land in your way. It is a contract you make with the Higher One that you will continue to nurture what can be redeemed in other people.
It is making a difference in you piece of land under the sun in a world that thrives on retaliation.
There is a need to give birth to our dream of self-fulfillment. Is it an old dream to pursue fine art, to leave a dead-end job so you can start a business, to change your image, to travel?
Take that first step today to free your inner self from the shackles of fear. You owe it to the one person in the world who matters—you. By giving birth to your dreams, you give birth to your own self.
