A Cold Night in Hell:

The date was December 16th. It was a cold night in hell. The sack was getting heavier with each step. The sound of her feet brought her closer to the gates of death, no other destination was in sight. When she looked to her left, she saw a big white wall. When she looked to her right, she saw a river flowing down its own path. So, she decided to glance behind her and unfortunately saw her past mistakes. Finally, she chose to look in front of her. Yet, instead of hope she saw hopelessness. Then, why was it that she was even trying to move forward? Why should she even bother? Didn't some poet say that "all good things must eventually come to an end"? She had no reason to keep moving. She had no family to look up to. She had no one to call upon. She trusted people in the past, but they disappointed her. So she stopped walking...right there...in the middle of the road to nowhere. She didn't even know the name of the street. She stopped moving forward...
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She put the sack down. It contained the few possessions she had left. She sat on the road side, bidding death to come to her. There was no reason to keep living in this world. There was no justice. There was no forgiveness. Only punishment and injustice. There was no mercy. She waited for hours, but death didn't come. At the sixteenth hour instead, a car came speeding by...a little red sedan. It was a lonely highway, and she wondered why anyone would be driving down this road at this time of the night.
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At first, the car passed her. Then it stopped a few inches from where she was, and then it reversed. A skinny young lady poked her head out of the window, "Hello," she said. "I have been driving down this road for the past two hours, hoping to see someone. I don't know what to tell you, but I know I was meant to meet you. I just moved down here. I won't be with my family this Christmas. I prayed to God to send someone my way, so it won't be lonely. I have a big house at the end of this street and I am inviting you. Will you be interested in a grand supper and a magnificent Christmas tree? My cook is really good..."

Tears were streaming down Tanyinka's eyes. She was trying to listen to what this woman was saying, but all she could think about was, "Mercy found me. God, you found me." December 16th would have been her last day on earth...

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This morning I woke up at 9.00am and proceeded to my closet, to praise God for everything He's done for me this year. For the highs and the lows, for the failures and the successes...for being my rock and strong tower.
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At the end of my hulla balloo, I kept quiet. Silence fell upon my room and I tried really hard to listen to His still voice. Maybe He had a response for me...
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Surely, the response came. Someone is not expecting anything this Christmas. While many are running helter skelter, buying gifts for their siblings, parents, and friends...someone somewhere has no reason to move on. But that's why we're here...the light of the world and the salt of the earth. The primary reason for celebrating Christmas is because God loved us so much that He planned that Jesus would be born for the sole purpose of dying to reconcile us back to our first love. But there's someone somewhere who has never known that real love...

So this Christmas, may we become the evidence of God's love to those who don't understand. Do something you've never done before to show this love...make it a challenge.

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