Carrying Christmas into 2012
By now the stockings have been un-hung, the decorations packed away except for perhaps a stray snowman here and there. Thoughts go from cookies to calories from gifts to goals. It’s easy to get into a post holiday slump–especially if Christmas didn’t go quite as planned.
Perhaps your spouse was grumpy, your children decided that they’d rather play with a plastic straw then their plethora of new toys, or maybe you ended up with everything that you didn’t want and nothing that you did. Maybe everyone caught a stomach bug and no one could eat any of the feast you worked so hard over. Maybe this was the first Christmas you celebrated after losing a loved one.
Christmas is so hyped up in this day and age that if you ended up with a less than perfect day you might go away feeling a little cheated. It’s easy to get into a funk that carries into the New Year. I’ve found that even on December 26th it’s important to keep all the *true* aspects of Christmas in mind–so that you can keep your perspective and keep celebrating all together.
If you think about it the first Christmas really wasn’t very glorious. Yes the birth of any baby–let alone the Savior of the world–is a glorious moment. It’s also a very gory moment–we’re all mom here so you know what I’m talking about. Can you imagine riding a donkey for over a week and searching for somewhere–anywhere while you were in the throes of labor? I was about to whack my hubby during my last labor just because he wasn’t driving me fast enough to the hospital–where a nice bed and a team of medical professionals awaited me. Can you imagine how terrified Joseph must have felt–delivering the Savior of the World all by himself? He was a carpenter–not a Doctor!
You see–Mary didn’t get the happy, easy home birth she’d been hoping for–her perfect “Christmas experience” God Himself didn’t choose to be born into wealth and comfort but into rough cloths, straw, and animals.
Puts our modern day problems into perspective. So instead of slumping–thank and praise for all the God and all the blessings. Thank God for His sacrifice and the sacrifices of those who loved them and all they did so that two thousand years later we could still gather and celebrate the day. Carry the true circumstances and sacrifices of Christmas with you into 2012 and you will be blessed and not bitter!
Copyright © Nicole Elliott, Moms of Faith, All Rights Reserved