It is early. There is a stillness in this house that was nowhere to be seen yesterday. There is no anticipation, no excitement, no wonder. I am sitting here among the remains of a busy and exhausting Christmas: toys jumbled together all over the floor, empty boxes, and torn wrapping paper...and my children are sleeping in.
The day after Christmas always feels like a letdown. The party is over and it's time to get back to reality. But what if we didn't let go of Christmas? What if we held on to the joy just a little bit longer.
Because the giving wasn't about the gifts, it was taking a little bit of ourselves and sacrificing it for another. And the receiving wasn't about what we got, but humbling ourselves to accept and feel loved. Because you are loved.
And what if we made family time a priority every day; if playing on the floor with our children was always our only plan for the day. What if every day I could ignore the mess, embrace the chaos, and just be in the moment.
This was our baby's first Christmas, and I wanted to soak in every moment, every reaction, every smile. What if I treated every day like Christmas and gave them my full attention, cherishing every second.
What if our hearts sought out random acts of kindness all year long. Would we leave cookies in the mailbox just to make the letter carrier smile? Would we be a little kinder to the people we pass, smile a little more? Would we mail out cards just to send encouragement? Would our churches be filled every week and the poor not forgotten?
And so, today, as I start to clean up the mess and try to find room for all the new things, as I pack away Christmas for another year; I am choosing to not let go of the Spirit of Christmas. Because it was all about Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us...and He's still with us even in the messy day-after-Christmas.
