Spring 2023 has sprung in Broken Arrow, OK

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

The Christmas Blues

Well, the presents under the tree are all gone.  The pretty wrapping paper is wadded up and tossed and the countless hours of preparation for the Christmas Day events is all done.  Now what?  Do you have a sense of the Christmas Blues?  For some the day after Christmas is just as special if not more as Christmas itself.  I guess you could say that it is all in the eyes of the beholder.

My son made the point of scheduling the day off from work today so that he could enjoy the kids and all the fun they would have exploring and trying out their new presents.  After all the hubbub and packed schedule yesterday, he felt that today’s rest would be really appreciated!  Years back when our kids were young, I many times took the week off after Christmas so I could also enjoy the aftermath of all the Holiday activities with my wife and kids.

This year was a little different.  I wasn’t really too sure what to expect from the Christmas gatherings and events.  My wife’s condition and the recent passing of my Mom seem to put a damper on everything.  Piper was quite out of it yesterday and I spent the majority of the time with the family at her folks by her side attending to her needs.  But just being with everyone and observing the antics of the little kids was uplifting.  Last night was a rough night and I ended up only getting about three hours sleep, so needless to say, today did not start off with much zing!

But as I sat at my desk while the morning light was beginning to take away the dark shadows of the night, the word “JOY!” began to resonate within me.  I had three of four Bible translations strewn around my workspace tables that were still opened to Luke chapter two, and a quick glance brought me right to verse ten where the angel of the Lord told the anxious shepherds “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great JOY, which shall be to all people.” (NIV)  As my tired brain attempted to comprehend those words, I suddenly realized that Christmas Day is just the beginning and not the end of the JOY that the angel declared that night.

I also recalled a recent conversation I had with a close friend.  We were talking about Mary in conjunction with our shared Catholic upbringing and she mentioned that as a young girl, she thought of Jesus as sort of a rebel.  As I contemplated her words this morning, I came to the stark realization that she was right!  Jesus was a rebel!  The angel declared a message to those lonely shepherds that was totally radical to the Jewish beliefs of their day! 

The Old Covenant was all about the people’s actions toward God, while the Good Tidings (or Good News) of great JOY was all about God’s actions toward the people!  It told of God coming to them!  The message and more importantly the actions that Jesus took later on in His life removed the veil between God and man.  They brought peace with God and allowed mankind the ability to live a JOYFUL life in right relationship with a loving heavenly Father!

Talk about being able to sit back and enjoy the gift of “righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17 NIV) following the events of Christmas Day!  That reality puts a whole new spin on the meaning of Christmas and should completely remove any vestige of the Christmas Blues!  I would encourage you to take a moment right now to think of all the effort you put out in order to bless your family and friends for Christmas in light of what Jesus did for you!  In some respects you could see yourself as one of His helpers in spreading His JOY to those whom your life touches.  And the best part is that it didn’t end yesterday… It only just began!

So as the lyrics to an old children’s Christmas song that I wrote many years ago say: ♫ “Put a smile on your face and praise the Lord, praise the Lord, and praise the Lord.  Put a smile on your face and praise the Lord, Praise Him all day long!”  Let your smile of JOY and praise to Him shine forth throughout this next week and coming New Year, and allow your presence to bring “good tidings of great JOY, which shall be to all (the) people” you meet!  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What JOYFUL Things am I expecting today?”

 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Your thoughts are welcomed. Please keep them within the context and flavor of this blog.