I've noticed something about Christmas. There's all the excitement and joyful anticipation of something wonderful about to happen! And it does! And it's crazy! And it's beautiful! And it's filled with love for family and friends!! Hugs and warmth and so much food!!! And then it's over. Or it kind of peters out over the next few days - and we're back into the routines of life. And it feels like an anticlimax.
I imagine it was a bit that way at the very first Christmas too! There was all the excitement over that very new baby! And the shepherds telling their tales of angels singing for joy! There were those first snuggles and the misty eyed wonder as tiny fingers grasped at theirs! And the air was filled with poignant beauty! And then they were into the mundane things of life - the endless nappies and sleepless nights. Difficulties of travel home, and responsibilities of providing and nurturing hanging heavy on their shoulders. Day after day, cleaning and teaching and nourishing this child, till he grew tall with wisdom and skills and grace.
And sometimes, I imagine they lost sight of that precious gift of hope they held, in the midst of life's pressures. And sometimes, we do too. Life gets crazy, and busy, and even very dark sometimes. The pressures we feel can make us feel stressed and exhausted and focus us only on the mundane and relentlessness of every day life.
So let's choose, this day and every day, to refocus, over and over, on the precious hope that came that first Christmas! The hope that lives, and walks with us, through all those mundane things of life - bringing joy to every day that we live. ❤
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