I love the holidays! …and when I say holidays, I mean the time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.  With the music, décor, and festivities forming and swirling around us, it seems almost impossible not to get caught up in the spirit of the season.  Many also celebrate the “12 Days of Christmas” beginning on December 25 and ending on January 6, celebrating the birth of Christ and various saints in the Catholic tradition.

Whenever the season begins or what it entails for us, one thing we can be most sure of is that it will also end—often, either with an exhalation of relief or a sigh of disappointment that what seemed to energize and excite us is now gone.  Besides torn wrapping paper, scattered fir needles, and ornate decorations, which once served to embellish but now seem to clutter, many are left exhausted from demanding schedules, the cooking and cleaning necessary for festive menus, and sometimes worn out from the intricate navigating through delicate situations or relationships.

As a child, I remember surveying my “loot” after the frenzy of Christmas morning and wondering, “is this all I get?”  As I’ve grown older, my awareness subtly shifted to a sense of loss when I awake on the 26^th—the build-up comes rapidly crashing down.  Good-byes are said, doors are closed, and we return to our ordinary lives.  This year I became more aware of a feeling that I’ve experienced before. …but am becoming more intentional in responding to it.  It is the recognition, with all the gifts, the food, the movies, the conversations…, that celebrating of the humble birth of the King slips into the background.

A sense of regret and guilt come sneaking up on me.  Yet, because of His gift I have the assurance that, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”  (Romans 8:1)

I also have this reminder, “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” (1 Timothy 6:17) It is not only the rich who need to be careful not to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches!  The important message, though, is that it is God who richly blesses us with things to enjoy.  It is also through His blessing in our lives that we are able to bless others.

Paul wrote this to the Corinthian church: “The point is this:  whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.  Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:6-8)

I love that the beginning of a new year follows so closely after Christmas because it provides the opportunity to intentionally refocus my attention and my life on Jesus, to remember His gift and His blessing in my life, and to re-purpose His grace in my life towards others.