I realize that this title has a very 'Martha Stewart' sound...in fact, it may be her tag line. Or maybe it was something else.
I digress.
So it is December 27th, Christmas has come and gone, like it always does. However, it feels to have eluded me a little more this year. I feel like with every year I grow older, my most favorite Holiday of all, goes by a little quicker. Slips through my fingers just a little faster. It also feels like there were more cynical commentaries on this, one of the most sacred of festivals, this year. I could analyze that, I'm sure, but I won't. Being in this really in between stage in life can make things often times, very confusing. It can make holidays more complex, relationships befuddling, goals unclear, and generally make one question themselves. A lot.
With Christmas behind and the new year ahead, I want to be sure to take things as they come, and enjoy each moment. I don't want memories to slip through my fingers. I want to always remember, like I did on Christmas Eve, what life is truly about. Jesus. You can argue up and down, and side to side on theology but in the end it comes down to Jesus. Do I trust him, or not. Do I believe or not. I want to get caught up in Jesus.
With the cynical news almost drowning out any semblance of hope. It becomes difficult to remember His simple, yet profound,entrance into our world. The beauty of a manger and a star.
So where does the application come into this? It is hard not to end the season feeling a little void, a little like "what just happened? where did that go?"
I am reminded by Paul's words nearing the end of his life, and I want this to be my charge. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7
Not that I am anywhere near (hopefully) the end of my life, I just realize it will be here all to quick and to make this journey worth it.
So, let us press on into the new year, fighting the good fight, running the race and keeping the faith. All while remembering the simplicity of the manger.
