Do they know it’s Christmas?

I am feeling very grinch-like this year.  Circumstances that are completely out of my control have overwhelmed me this year.  I’m a problem-solver, not someone who needs her problems solved.  

When I find myself in this type of situation, I have two choices.  I can sit in my own little pissed off world, or I can remember that I actually have a great life.  This morning, I turned on my tap and had fresh water.  I’ve never gone to bed hungry.  I don’t fear for the safety of my niece, nephews or family.  

(Please forgive me as I see the world through an American lens for a moment.)

There are millions of people who will not have a Christmas tree with presents, a hot dinner surrounded by family, the ability to worship Jesus openly on December 25.  Or any other day.  

There are millions of women and children who are slaves–working in the sex trade, as domestic servants, in sweat shops, harvesting cacao and coffee beans.  There’s a multitude of children who are soldiers fighting a war that is not theirs, being forced to do horrific things to family, friends, neighbors.

Do they know it’s Christmas?  Who am I to complain?