Afghan Christmas ( a repost from 2010)

For those who have not always been following this blog, this is a re-post. I am hoping that this indeed, might be the last Afghan Christmas for our soldiers and their waiting and anxious families! Send out your affirmations….

Afghan Christmas

 

Stars shine brightly overhead

On an otherwise cold, clear Afghan night –

Christmas Eve.

Far from home am I,

Christmas only in my dreams

As the song says.

Could this be how the shepherds felt?

Alone –

With only their memories,

Of family and friends, a warm fire,

Far away on that night,

Now more than two thousand years ago,

When He was born,

Before there even was a Christmas.

Memories of my family, my friends,

A warm fire in the fireplace,

Christmas carolers singing “Silent Night”

Christmas trees aglow with lights,

Snowflakes falling outside my window –

Gifts to me, this night,

This cold, clear Afghan night.

Home for the holidays?

Only in my dreams…

For I am a soldier,

And my mission, much like His,

Is to bring peace on earth.

Goodwill to Men!