I love the anticipation of holidays – the fall colors and smells, and yes, I am a pumpkin-everything gal. In fact, even as we speak my fall pumpkin candle is burning away in the dining room. Yum.
Raking leaves and earning a couple of bucks, the Christmas parties at school, sleeping in, Christmas caroling, family parties at Aunt Norma’s on Christmas Eve, sneaking upstairs during the basement parties just to sit quietly in her cozy little living room on the couch admiring her always, very wide Christmas tree, the ornaments that were so different than ours at home, and heading to church at midnight before driving home. There was something really mysteriously sweet about the stillness of night on our way home, and all of us cousins would discuss whether or not it was true that at midnight all the animals around the world would bow on their knees at exactly the same time because they knew it was the night our Savior Jesus was born.
At home, I liked being by myself and lying underneath the Christmas tree, staring up into all of the brilliant shiny colors of lights. I would arrange and re-arrange the manger scene, and imagine what it was like the night that Christ was born. Sometimes, I’d lay under there for hours all alone. Nothing’s changed now that I’m 61, and even as I write this, my shiny little Christmas tree is right beside me. It’s so perfectly pretty and elegant, and I could sit here in the dark, and just keep staring into it, forgetting all that I have to get done today.
The older I get, the more I realize that if I don’t participate in activities that remind me of what the holidays are really all about, I can find myself spiraling into a deep depression. I’d rather be singing carols on the front lawn of someone’s home who needs some cheering up, reminding all of us of what the season is all about than just about anything else this time of year. So by the time December 31st rolls around, I’m ready for a clean slate, a calendar wiped clean, and ready to be done with all of the obligatory festivities that have exhausted me since I was little.
Sometimes, I’d still love nothing more than to stay home and lie underneath the Christmas tree.
As a child, I remember coming home from school and being sad that my mom took the Christmas tree and all of the decorations down, reminding me that the season was over. But it wouldn’t take long before life returned to the comforts of my familiar and normal pre-holiday routine, and I quickly realized that this meant spring was on its way, and that the summer months would soon follow. That meant a whole host of other holidays, travel, and activities I enjoyed, which echo my sister’s wisdom of always making sure that something is on the calendar to look forward to – even if it’s as simple as doing something small we enjoy, such as caring for ourselves with a pedicure.
Mine is scheduled for this Wednesday after work 😉
I’m not making any resolutions this year, except to take better care of myself and practice using my “no” muscle, doing only what I can do, and not feeling obligated to do anymore than I’m able or willing to do. The phone might get turned off a little more frequently, and I may try to learn a new hobby or two. I’ve got a short vacation planned for January, a couple of social activities on the calendar for those dreadfully cold winter days, and some home improvements to knock off my to-do list. Also, I’m determined to finish learning how to play euchre!
I hope you did more than “get through” the holidays. I pray you kept your focus on Christ and not on all of the list making and gift buying, the social gatherings and store bargains. I hope you had either a brand new realization, or a fresh reminder that Jesus’ birth was a gift for you, one that neither of us deserve (that’s called GRACE). He left His throne and came down to earth in order to live the perfect life that you and I could never have lived. In just a few short months, we will have the opportunity to celebrate Easter when Jesus died for us – the death you and I deserve. (He took our place!) And then He rose from the grave, making it possible for you and I to be reconciled to, and live eternally with God. That was quite an exchange! He gets my sin, and I get His righteousness! I pray you let that sink in, and that it causes you to repent, and then surrender yourself to Him.
My New Year prayer is not only that you give yourself something to look forward to (like a pedicure), but that you begin this New Year, looking forward in a whole new way to celebrating the death, burial, and resurrection of the same Jesus at Easter, whose birthday we just celebrated a week ago!
“…but God shows His love fur us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
If my sister’s wisdom is wise, (and I believe it is), then as the months and years of our lives go by, and the seasons roll back around, with our eyes fixed on Christ and our hearts surrendered to Him, we will never, ever be without something to look forward to!
Happy New Year!
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