My fellow St. Martiners, residents of this beloved island, we all agree that Christmas is a special season of the year. It is a time for family, friends and loved ones to come together to make merry.
Two years after the nightmare of [Hurricane – Ed.] Irma, perhaps we should ask ourselves: what is it really that we’re celebrating? For me, the answer is very simple: we are celebrating life! Being alive to witness another Christmas is the greatest gift God has given us.
I know and feel the pain of those who have lost loved ones and cannot spend Christmas with them. I know and feel the anguish of those who are in hospital beds, fighting for their lives, or trying to recover from some illness. My family and I have you in our prayers.
As a nation that has gone through and is still going through its own share of trials and tribulations, we know it is not an easy road. But it was not an easy road for the Holy Family, who could find no room in any inn and had to end up in a manger to deliver the baby Jesus. Now, if the Messiah, the Saviour, had to go through all those hardships from birth, perhaps the real lesson we should draw from that story is the triumph of life over all obstacles.
That biblical story also emphasizes the importance of family; of sticking together regardless of the circumstances, and of never losing hope, of always keeping the faith.
That is my wish for you and your family this Christmas season. While we drink up we rum or guavaberry, and eat up we ham and turkey and tart or a delicious bowl of sousse, we must remember those who are less fortunate and who are still without roofs over their heads, who have to bring out the buckets and place them under leaking tarpaulins whenever it rains. I urge you to invite them over so that they too can know it is Christmas on St. Martin.
On behalf of my family, I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas. Spread the love.
William Marlin
Chairperson of Parliament
