December 26th : Not Over
Today is December 26th. There are new toys to play with, and new clothes to be washed. Leftover ham is for lunch, and you better grab a cookie before they're gone. Dad says we need to soon put up the reindeer in the yard before it gets colder. We go back to work, soon the tree will come down, and the Christmas movies will be put on a shelf. Rudolph will land, Frosty will melt, and Santa is bound for a long vacation. Christmas is gone for another year, according to the calendar.
But is it really? Where could it go? Does joy, hope, peace, and love just get packed away in boxes between the twinkle lights and the red-colored bows? Do relatives go home and have to wait a whole other 365 days to eat another meal together? Does the birth of our Savior get shut between the pages until December 25th swings around again?
A month from now, we'll have forgotten the warmth and light of the glowing evergreen tree. Memories of laughter and board games and the star in the night will be replaced with schedules, events, and chores. Excitement will turn to worry about what's to come. Joy will become frustration and tiredness. Expectancy will turn to questioning and doubt. A new year is rapidly approaching, and with it, uncertainty and lots of unknown things. I get it. I'm a high school senior on the brink of turning 18 years old. When I am asked about the future, I wish I had a solid answer, but, right now, I don't. It's easier to live frustrated and in a hurry, but it also hurts more.
May I remind you that Christmas does not end after December 25th. Sure, the decorations are gone and the weather warms back up (super gradually for some), but the things we associate with Christmas are not Christmas.
Christmas is that feeling when you are seated amongst family, eating a good meal. It's in watching your mom laughing at Elf which she had never seen. It's in playing Settlers of Catan with your brother (even when you are beaten - twice). It's about reminiscing about what God has done in your little corner of the world, how's He has truly been Emmanuel, God with us.
Christmas was born in a small town, to two poor and unknown humans. The pregnancy was seen as a scandal, the journey had to have been long, and they are in a place where animals are kept. Christmas came in the lowest, humblest of packages. The first to hear of it were dirty, rough, weather-beaten shepherds. Christmas came, and the world slept through it.
But we know. Lots of us have heard to story all our lives, lots have heard it in passing. Can I challenge you to grasp it tightly and not let it go? Life is not hopeless. Peace can be found. Joy has found an everlasting reason to rest upon. Jesus was born. He grew. He taught. He lived a sinless, yet human, life, finally allowing Himself to be beaten, pierced, mocked, and murdered for our sake.
Yet, because He was God, death was defeated. The manger filled with hay lead to an empty, empty tomb. Christmas does not end today. Carry it with you. Cling to its truths. Walk this earth with the purpose that Christ has given us. "You are the light of the world." (Matt. 5:14) Now go light it well.
(I hope you all had a merry Christmas and will carry it with you all year long.
This blog post is inspired by this song by Matthew West. It's a good one ya'll.
This blog post is inspired by this song by Matthew West. It's a good one ya'll.
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