Kojo Quartey: Gifts and blessings at Christmas

It is that time of year when people are giving and receiving gifts. It is the Christmas season and many of us are blessed to be able to afford gifts for ourselves, family and friends. I am unabashedly and unapologetically Christian, and I am writing this article from an individual Christian perspective, so if you are not a Christian, I understand; if you are a Christian, can I get an amen!? I am truly thankful for many things, especially family, friends, my job, my community, the birth of Jesus Christ and my Omari.

The greatest gift of all was given to me 2022 years ago when God’s only begotten son, Jesus Christ was born to come into the world to save me from my sins. A child was born to make my life whole. I can think of no greater gift than that. Children are the gift of life, and that is how Jesus Christ began. I have always loved children, and God has gifted me with many of them, including my own children, nephews, nieces and others who deserve all the love in the world. I call children angels because of their pure innocence. When they first come into the world, they are as pure as can be and can do no wrong. It is the world around them that corrupts them as they grow and begin to lose that angelic spirit.

As we celebrate the gift of the birth of Jesus Christ, I am also celebrating the personal gift of a loving child that God and the Monroe community gifted me four years ago. Special thanks to Pastor Boone and Oaks of Righteousness Church. His name is Omari, and he just turned 4 as I get closer to the end of a very difficult adoption process for my angel Omari. Throughout my life I have been blessed over and over, in spite of whatever challenges I have encountered. I was not expecting and was not looking for an angel, but God chose to give me Omari. He is a loving and very active angel who is the center of my life now; and I would not trade that for anything. By the way, if you read my article last week, we went back to the store and purchased that item that he was fixated on; as predicted, it is already broken.

The name Omari in Swahili means “God the Highest” or “God the Greatest” or, in simple terms, “God is Great!” I chose that name for him because indeed God is great for gifting me with an angel at this stage of my life. I like to remind people that Omari is my son, not my grandson. While doing that, I also remind them that Abraham, in the Bible, was 100 years old when he was gifted his first son, Isaac. Omari is not my first, and while I am aiming for 100, I am not quite there yet.

As I think of the season and the many children and others who are less fortunate, I am reminded of some of the lyrics of one of my favorite Christmas songs, “Someday at Christmas” by Stevie Wonder:

“Someday at Christmas we'll see a land, With no hungry children, no empty hand. One happy morning people will share, Our world where people care.”

“Someday at Christmas man will not fail, Hate will be gone and love will prevail. Someday a new world that we can start, With hope in every heart….”

During this Christmas, as we open our gifts and count our blessings, it is important for us not to forget that 2022 years ago, God gave His only begotten Son so that those of us who believe in Him should have everlasting life. As I reflect on my many blessings during my few days off, I will be spending quality time with my Omari during this Christmas Holiday and be thankful for the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ and my angel Omari. Indeed, God is great — Omari! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all.

Kojo Quartey is president of Monroe County Community College.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Kojo Quartey: Gifts and blessings at Christmas