The Day After

Its December 26th.  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas like I did.  Robert and I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with two different families here.  Both couples dearly love the Lord and are raising wonderful and God-fearing children.  It was a delight to celebrate Christ with them.  And I hope your day was full of wonderful time with family and friends and that your day revolved around Christ and His birth.  

(Here are a few of the best photos)


Christmas Day

Christmas Eve 


But, however wonderful yesterday was, I woke up to a somewhat depressing realization...Christmas is over.  Every year, today, the day after Christmas, makes me sad.  And this year, I decided to really stop and think about why.  Is it because the gifts are all opened?   Is it because the excitement has died down?  Is it because I know I gained at least a few pounds in the past two days?  Is it because we have to wait a whole 'nother year to participate in our Christmas family traditions?  I have to admit some of these things affect me, but I don't think the real answer lies in any of these things.  

I think the real answer is that my spirit is grieving, and perhaps the Holy Spirit within me as well.  I am grieved that most of the people in this world have now ceased thinking even remotely about Christ (if He was even thought of during their celebration at all) and will go back to thinking about almost everything else.  I am grieved that even many people who call themselves Christians (and think themselves so because of affiliation with a certain church or birth into a certain family) will likely not step foot into a church again until the weekend of Easter.  I am grieved that even those of us who trust Christ as our Savior will think about Him far too little between now and the next Christmas season.  

Admittedly, this sounds a bit depressing, but the reason I am writing all of this is because I want to challenge myself and to challenge you as well.  Hebrews challenges us to "Fix our eyes on the author and perfecter of our faith", and this is not an encouragement that comes only at Christmas time, when it is easier to think about Christ.  God and His Christ are deserving of our adoration and love every moment of every day.

I'll leave this short and I won't preach.  I am known to ramble and I am not a preacher.  I just pray that we not let our eyes drift elsewhere during the other eleven months of the year.   May our hearts and minds go back and forth between the manger and the cross always, and not be caught up in anything else.



   

Comments

  1. AMEN to your thoughts. I love the day after Christmas though, because I can finally rest and reflect. It was so wonderful this year, because it is Sunday and we went to Church and continued to thank GOD for sending his Son. We miss you so much.

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  2. I encourage you to use the next 12 days to study the 12 days of Christmas song and history. That's just something that we we do to keep Christ foremost in our hearts and minds now that the nightly advent readings have come to a close.

    http://www.crivoice.org/cy12days.html

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