I was musing as I walked. I was not looking.

My mind was full of the loads of yesteryear.

My vision was blocked by the cares of tomorrow.

I was lucky I did not fall into the duckpond.

Then snow began to appear from nowhere and very soon it was all over and around me.

How beautiful! How amazing! (I mean, how did God come up with such brilliant idea: to decorate all the bare branches in the woods with white shiny coats ?)

Only moments ago I was lamenting on the ugly look of the maple tree standing miserably in the middle of the field after it had been stripped of its last leaf.

Was it the same tree ?

Such elegance and grace did it present itself to the north wind that all the surrounding features were left gasping in awe and admiration.

Who would have expected to find life after death, victory after defeat, joy after sorrow ?

I did not. I have always been used to yielding in the face of "reality".

Thank God the "truth" is: there is always something beyond "reality": something surprises even the most skeptical among us.

This, is what I was led to discover on the morning of January 1st, 2004.

WILL PEACE BE COMING SOON ?

Wars.

Sicknesses.

Poverty.

And everything that kills, steals and destroys the joy of living.

They are all real as the rising of the sun and they are all here to

stay.

Does the World has to end in order?to satisfy these raging furies

of the gods ? Or could we call forth a Saviour to battle on our

behalf and bring peace to our wretched souls ?

They said there is One named Jesus.

He who preached love and forgiveness,

healed the sick,

and raised the dead,

yet?himself was betrayed by his own kind,

framed,

condemned,

nailed to a cross,

died,

sealed beneath a tombstone,

but lived again after three days,

claiming victory over death and sin.

He will come again to set us free, so they said.

If Jesus is real I want to know him.

If a man suffered so much in this world and still wants to come back

into it,

he must be either a real Saint who has genuine love for mankind,

or the long-awaited Saviour who holds the key to Life,

or both.

If He can hear me thinking now, I want to say:

Thank you.

And please come soon.

Written sometime this year 2004. Reviewed during the second week of Advent.

Things haven't really changed much. My prayer remained the same.