Christmas Traveling

Christmas is coming in just a few weeks, and many people are excited about that.  For many in Kuwait and abroad this means that there is some sort of extended time off of work.  Whether teachers are getting two weeks off for Christmas and early January, or people in business are taking a month off to return home, many people get some sort of extended break. 

This brought the question to mind: why do we travel?  I think people travel for many reasons.  Some are good and legitimate, such as seeing the world around them, experiencing what other cultures are like, taking some time for rest and relaxation, exploring a favorite historical or architectural monument, and many others. 

However, I know that in my heart and the hearts of many others there are selfish reasons for why we travel.  Sometimes I want to travel just to boast to others about my amazing experience, or to say that I've been to more countries than most, or to make the world jealous with my amazing Facebook pictures and how happy my wife and I are. 

These reasons for travel are not good, and they won't satisfy us.  There will always be someone going to more countries than you, having more income to spend than you, traveling more cheaply than you, posting more amazing Facebook photos than you, and looking happier than you.  That will just leave us either feeling despair that we can't keep up with the international Joneses, or endlessly pursuing the next thing and not appreciating and enjoying what God has already given us. 

I would submit that we need to check our hearts when we are getting ready to travel somewhere, whether it's back home or to an exotic location.  If we have enough discretionary income to travel the world, we need to be trembling on our knees with gratitude to Jesus for it.  All of the opportunities we have to travel are pure grace, and we SHOULD enjoy it, but in a way that pleases and honors God, not that exalts ourselves and our pride.  Let's check our hearts and travel for the glory of God!

Desert Christmas

About a year ago, I was doing some shopping at the grocery store in the Avenues Mall, which is the largest mall in the country. It was December and I was just picking up some food items and looking through the clothing when I heard music. It was the mall background music, but I knew the song. It was a Christmas song! It was not just a generic, non-religious Christmas song, but it was "O Holy Night." I was totally blown away by this. I'm not sure if maybe the manager was a Christian or they just popped in any Christmas album they found for the background music of the mall, but it is interesting to see how Christmas still exists even in Kuwait.

Beyond this, many of the malls, including the Avenues, have some Christmas decorations. They sell fake trees and some ornaments. There will occasionally be Christmas music at malls and restaurants. The English department where I work also put up a large Christmas tree.

However, for the most part, the holidays do feel a bit different here than back home. For one thing, the weather is warmer. While it's not as hot in December as it is in the summer, it's still in the 50's and 60's, and there is certainly no snow on the ground anywhere.  I personally love that it's not cold, but it does take away from the authentic quality of Christmas.  Also, there are no Christmas decorations on houses. Even as I look out the window, I see a towering mosque surrounded by palms trees, a sign for McDonalds, and power lines in the distance. While some schools get two weeks off for Christmas, most educators and employees don't get any extra time off for Christmas. All I get is the day itself off, which is a courtesy to the Western teachers. It doesn't exactly scream Christmas.

Some of my friends here have a tough time being away from family who are back home during the season, and it can be especially painful for them. Please pray that the many Christians here that are away from their families would be comforted by Jesus.

For me, I really enjoy it because it's so different. I have my wife here who is my main family.  I also have my spiritual family, which are my close Christian friends who are together here with me.  My semester ends about a week after Christmas, so it signals a break. It also means that I get to travel. Additionally, there are many Christmas parties--life group Christmas dinner, life group leaders Christmas celebration, worship team Christmas dinner, and many more that will keep me very busy and overweight for the next two weeks.

I will also probably invite the people from my life group who are not traveling to my house on Christmas Eve and possibly have them spend the night (pending wife's approval), which is a Christmas tradition we started last year. We will open presents in the morning and then go to one of the church services at the Lighthouse.

While Christmas is certainly different in Kuwait, I'm grateful to God that the power of the birth of the Savior has reached even to a Muslim country, which is surprisingly close to where the original event happened.