Christmas Every Day 2

It's the day after Christmas, but it really didn't seem like it to me.

Ever since Thanksgiving, the timing between the holidays has seemed off for some reason. Part of it must be that the traditional highlight of my Christmas -- a gathering including my mom, my five siblings and many of our extended family members -- was in scheduling limbo for many weeks, before we decided less than two weeks before Christmas that it wouldn't work out at all. I see pictures people are posting on Facebook of their family gatherings, often spanning two or three days, and feel a bit of sadness that I don't have my own to share. That's true even though I'm also very grateful for and OK with decisions our family made.

I think Christmas falling on a Tuesday also messed with my timing. We had church Sunday morning, and we had Christmas Eve worship on Monday. Today, it seemed like the schedule should be back to normal for a Wednesday. But it didn't seem normal. I went to a meeting I usually attend on Wednesdays, but only two other people were there. And choir practice was canceled.

Until 2016, my Christmas through New Year's holiday period often only included two days off. Family gatherings were usually the weekend before or after Christmas Day. The work days before Christmas and between Christmas and New Year's were as hectic as any for me -- and often busier because other people were taking days off.

As I continue to adjust to my new and preferred lifestyle that doesn't include an office job with daily deadlines and relatively few days off, especially at the end of the year, I had hoped to be more disciplined in spreading Christmas joy to people, such as homebound members of my church, who are sometimes overlooked.  As I ran out of time, I reminded myself I could continue these visits after Christmas. But now that Christmas is over, the sense of urgency is gone. It will take a different kind of motivation to follow through.

Exercising that intentional effort is a new goal. It's part of how I want to experience Christmas every day. I don't want to give up on completing the task of addressing Christmas cards and getting them delivered. I don't want to give up on visiting at least four people before the end of the year. I may not wear a Santa hat and sing carols -- but I can if I want to. After all, we've just begun the 12 days of Christmas ...

I was thinking about this as I drove to my meeting this morning. I had the radio on, and I heard one of the program hosts on K-Love talking about her son unexpectedly suggesting they go to a candlelight Christmas Eve service. She said she was already in her comfy clothes and slippers and really did not care to go out. But he insisted, and she agreed to go. At the end of the service, as the candlelight was being passed from one person to the next -- and from her to her son -- she became profoundly aware that this was one of those moments that mattered. She thanked God that she hadn't missed this opportunity.

I don't want to miss my moments that matter. I am aware I often won't know in advance which moments those are. The ones I think matter might turn out to be fairly insignificant. And I've had quite a few times when I thought something I did or helped with was really minor, and I was amazed at how deeply appreciated it was by another person. Other times, such as a hospital visit today, are powerful affirmations of why I should not hold back when my spirit says go.

Leading up to Christmas, I read two Advent devotional series based on Scriptures. I also continued my daily readings from Proverbs 31 ministries and The Upper Room. Somewhere among those, or perhaps some 12-step literature or something I heard at a meeting, I took to heart that when I'm unsure what to do, I can be sure of this: the choice should be loving and honorable.

Part of how I respond to God's great Christmas gift of love is by receiving it. I let it wash over me. I read and study the Bible to learn more about God and Christ and the Holy Spirit and the life that is possible when I believe. I can echo the words of Christ's mother, Mary, that nothing is impossible for God.