Turning That Dread On Its Head
There’s nothing more exciting than Christmas morning and the anticipation that it takes to get there. Although we count down the days as kids, being a parent is at times more fun, because we get to give the gifts! Let’s be honest, part of the fun in receiving gifts as a child is that we couldn’t afford to purchase anything. As adults our budget can get tight, always be tight, or nearly invisible, but watching your kids is more fun than anything you can recount as a child. As I sit here writing this, my kids are in the kitchen, it sounds like a kid’s camp broke out in my home. The last day of school was yesterday, and Winter Break has officially started. We kicked off last night with National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, it can’t get much better than that!
Trying to work from home, even with an office designated specifically for work, is still challenging. When I hear my kids fight, my wife grunt, or everyone go into a tizzy, I can’t help but step out of the office and try to break it up, lift it up, or be a part of a solution to calm my home for moments until it all ensues again. I love my family. They are the greatest gift and the most magical part of Christmas. Jesus was born so that He can die. But, when he defeated death and resurrected, He gave us the joy filled season that we are now enjoying.
After the presents are opened, the bowl games are over, the cookies are dry crumbs, the family goes home, and school starts back, the time of year most people dread descends upon us. January and February are not awful in Virginia Beach, at times they provide spring like temps. However, the beginning of the year requires reflection, and it often brings about a time most people genuinely hate. It’s cold, it’s quiet, and it is at times dark and heavy. The dark and heavy is not the feel of the climate, it is most notably the reflection of our introspection.
I hear many people in December speak of dreading January. That is like us, to take away the joy of one season to hesitate and kill the potential of joy in the next. Without January ever arriving, we have already prepared for the heavy storm that will knock out our confidence, hope, and perspective. Preparation is a great thing, especially when you know it is coming. However, what if we prepared for the best January yet? A time that we cannot get enough laughter or enough family time!
My encouragement to you this December, let’s enjoy our families, the cookies, the bowl games, the presents, the laughter, and celebration that is Jesus coming to earth so that we can all experience redemption and salvation! Let’s celebrate that, and let’s look forward to a January where we get to live it out! He is the same Savior in January that He is in December.
Be encouraged by what Paul wrote to the church in Philippi, “12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us (Philippians 3:12-14).”
You may see gloom, but God sees greatness, you may see darkness, but God sees destiny, you may see hopelessness, but God sees hope, you may dread the quiet, but God is looking forward to spending time with you!
Let’s turn this dread into a desire for more of Jesus. Don’t go into the holidays, the New Year, or January alone. God is right there, let’s press on, remember how valuable you are. Don’t ignore the struggles, face them, and know that you are destined to do great things. Decisions we make does not change what God has created us for. Keep your head up, you are doing a lot better than you give yourself credit for. The lull that we anticipate is going to be an incredible time of growing in our faith and in our hope for what lies ahead!
As for me, I have to go, my kids are about to start a football game in the front yard and I have a reputation to uphold, no, I do not let them win. I have to rack up the victories because once they start winning, I’ll never win again! Merry Christmas from the Shank Dynasty and let’s do this!
