One morning at the start of December, Sumathi was enjoying her morning coffee when her phone rang. “Hey, Sumathi, what plans for Christmas?” Her friend Meena chirpily asked. “Hi Meena, nothing much, haven’t planned anything. Raj is busy. What about you and Rakesh?” “We’re thinking of getting away to Coorg this Christmas. Come, join us! Remember the wonderful time we had in 2005? How exciting it was with the three of us besties, our spouses, and tiny kids at that time!

“I do remember,” Sumathi replied. “How time flies! It was so lively. Chitra and Ravi’s two-year-old daughter was so adorable. The Christmas Ball and games were such good fun. Not to forget the winter chill, bonfire, wine, and songs! But Meena, I’m in no mood for similar parties this Christmas.” Meena was a bit taken back to hear her normally cheerful friend be so downcast. “Let’s meet for lunch tomorrow and catch up with Chitra too. Cheer up. How does that song go?

I simply remember my favourite things, and then I don’t feel so bad...”

Sumathi smiled. Meena was a wonderful singer. “Bye Meena,” she said and hung up. Sumathi finished her coffee and tried to analyze her feelings. She was 42, a Systems Analyst in a multinational firm. She excelled at deciphering problems and providing solutions.

“I’ll list down the positives and the negatives in my life and see why my emotional balance is tilting,” Sumathi thought. She made two columns in her diary for Positives and Negatives and started jotting down. At the end of 20 minutes, she found that the Positives far outweighed her Negatives! She and Raj were happily married for twenty years. They had two sons. Joe was studying in the US and Danny in the 9^th standard. Both were good kids. Raj was one of the founders of his own start-up company and took on the role of a Product Manager. He was a very caring and principled person. They were financially strong and popular in their local Church community. Sumathi loved her family and work. The only negative point she entered was, “didn’t travel for two years!” Sumathi closed her diary and said to herself, “I’ll return to this later,” and logged in to her computer to start her day’s work.

She did meet Meena and Chitra for lunch the next day. Sumathi shared with her best friends that she couldn’t pinpoint the reason for her current mood, but she deeply felt for the many families who lost their loved ones. “They’re bound to miss them this Christmas,” she said. Her friends agreed to this fact. Chitra wasn’t too sure of Coorg and suggested they join the Christmas Party at Bangalore Club instead. Sumathi didn’t commit to this either.

A few days later, around 4 PM her doorbell rang. Sumathi opened the door to see Arun, a strapping 14-year-old lad holding up a box for her. He said, “Mum thought of you and sent this.” “Thank you, Arun, come in,” Sumathi said, and peering into the box she exclaimed, “How lovely, Ruth’s brownies are the best! Do let her know, I love these brownies! How have you been, Arun? Arun looked at her and said, “It’s ok now Aunt Sumathi. The shock is wearing off. It’s been five months since Dad passed away and things are returning to normal though we miss him very much every day. Mum has come to terms with Dad not being around and plans to take up a teaching post. Jay and I have started attending school. I see Danny in school. He’s a good basketball player!” “Really? I’ll let Danny know. He’ll be happy to hear that! Thanks for the lovely orange juice, Aunty,” and Arun stood up to leave. Sumathi patted him on his shoulder as he left.

Ruth lived two houses away from hers on the same lane. It was tragic when her husband Vikram Paul an articulate Physics professor succumbed to Covid in June this year. He was only 45. Ruth and her two sons Arun and Jay were devastated. Sumathi liked Vikram. Conversations with him were always interesting. “How nice of Ruth to send me something I enjoy!” Sumathi thought.

After dinner that day, Sumathi looked at Raj and asked, “what do you want to do for Christmas this year?”

“I have a lot of work and can’t take a vacation this time,” Raj said. “Anyways, what is Christmas? People, including us, have lost the true meaning of what it stands for, it’s become so commercialized. All I see is an increase in plastic waste every year! Santa Claus, Christmas trees, fairy lights, gifts, gourmet food, and parties have taken away the sanctity of Christmas. Where is the love, compassion, faith, and hope that the birth of Jesus is supposed to bring? I’m not against these fun things but I think we’re missing out on something deeper. Christmas is the time of God showing His great love for us by giving us his Son Jesus Christ who died for us and took away our sins on the Cross. Sorry Sumathi, not very inclined to do anything this year even though things are opening up.”

“That’s fine, I feel the same,” Sumathi replied.

But her mind raced. She grabbed her diary and started writing as her surprised husband and son looked on. She paused after 15 minutes and said, “my analysis is complete”! Looking at her newly added points she realized the scale now tipped on the negative front; my prayer life is inconsistent, and so cursory, not empathetic enough, I hardly read my Bible, and she had a few more points.

After contemplating a bit, Sumathi looked at Raj and said, “A few days back I felt so down when Meena asked me about Christmas, but now I have a plan! Let’s invite Ruth Paul and her sons for Christmas. Doubt they’ll celebrate this year.” Raj nodded his approval. Danny piped in, “can I invite Nitin, he’s changed, and not the same as before?” “Sure,” Sumathi replied.

Sumathi cooked the Christmas dinner. She made coconut rice, chicken curry, potato wedges, and a traditional rice cake. Ruth and her sons arrived. Arun brought his guitar along and Jay passed along the song sheets. Melodious songs filled the room and everyone’s hearts warmed up. Raj read a passage from the Bible and spoke. “Let’s remember how fortunate we are to celebrate another Christmas and let’s remember all the families who have lost loved ones. He prayed for God’s wisdom to guide each of them and for everyone to grow in love, faith, and compassion. He concluded, “May the Peace and Joy of Christmas be with each one of you.” And everyone responded, “Amen”!

Ruth said, “Thanks for inviting us. It was a wonderful evening. I’d like to add. “It’s not what we have that brings joy, it’s who we have that brings joy! Having Christ in your life will give you the Peace and Joy that no material thing can fill. It’s hard without Vikram, but I live with this faith that Christ is in me, and that gives me courage.”

“This is so profound, thanks for sharing, Ruth!” Sumathi said and hugged her. Nitin said softly, “Thank you, Danny, Aunt Sumathi, and Uncle Raj for inviting me. I felt happy after such a long time. I lost my grandma due to covid in April this year and I miss her a lot. Both my parents work in the hospital and are away the whole day. It’s terrible being alone. It was nice when school reopened, but I’m reminded how Grandma would welcome me when I returned from school and that makes me miserable.

Raj rumpled Nitin’s curly mop and said, “Son, you’re welcome here any time. We could meet like this once a month if you’d like that.” “I’d love that, Uncle Raj!” Nitin said and all the others chorused “Yes” in unison. Nitin turned to Arun and said, “Arun, I liked the songs you sang especially the one that had these words:

‘Cause when we see You, we find strength to face the day
In Your Presence, all our fears are washed away.

Can we sing this again?” Arun led the group for this song and everyone sang like they meant every word!

Praise is rising, eyes are turning to You, we turn to You
Hope is stirring, hearts are yearning for You, we long for You

Later as the last guest left, Sumathi squeezed Raj and Danny’s hands and said, “thank you! I feel the seed of Love has been rekindled in our hearts this Christmas!” In her mind, Sumathi resolved to remove all the negatives on her list and said to herself, “It’s a fresh start!”

Jean Rao