Holy Cow, where did time go? It is already the second week of January 2019!!! We are in a new year with new goals, ambitions and who knows what else! At the same time of looking forward to the new year how many of us are recovering from what I call the “holiday hangover”. NO I don’t mean from drinking too much all of December. Being pregnant definitely helped with no actual hangover. What I mean by holiday hangover is that you are recovering from all the fa la la la la la la la la. Hopefully by now all of the Christmas songs that were on repeat have left your head and maybe just maybe the Christmas decor is stuffed back in totes until next year. If any of you were like my husband they were put away before New Years Eve, which is somewhat a first for us. We didn’t have kids for 4 days the weekend after Christmas so he used that time to get stuff put away while I spent it not feeling well. I had a fairly decent size to do list while we were kid free and well God had other plans for me. I battled what I thought was a torn ligament in my abdomen (isn’t pregnancy fun) but ended up being just a 4 day stomach bug. Hello new year weight loss, right?!
Anyways back to the “Holiday Hangover”…In all seriousness this is a real thing for many people. From about mid to late October to the start of the new year we cram as much holiday cheer into our lives. We have Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. Whew! I am tired just typing these words and thinking back to what they entailed. Many of us travel near and far over the last months of the year to see extended families, friends and loved ones. Some stay put and others come and visit us at our homes, which brings about a different kind of chaos, from meal planning to finding fun family activities to keep everyone busy and entertained. While the holidays are not meant to be negative, they can often harbor feelings of resentment, sorrow, jealousy, pain and flat-out depression. For some this holiday season contained a lot of “firsts” maybe it was a first holiday without a loved one, or maybe it was the first holiday “sharing’ kids with your ex-spouse due to divorce, or maybe it was first holiday sober or spent with a loved one who was sober for the first time. What we often forget as we go about our holiday plans is that while for us it may be a time of joy and Christmas Cheer, for others it is a time of sadness, anxiety, anger and confusion while they battle getting though each day.
While my family didn’t have any deaths we had a different holiday as my 96-year-old Nana was recovering from two emergency surgeries in a weeks time the week before Christmas. So while she recovered from the surgery she spent days leading up to Christmas in a rehab facility getting her strength back in hopes that she would be able to return to her own home. Let me tell you this was a different Christmas for lots of my family. There definitely was not Christmas cheer. We went day-to-day wondering about her recovery and what the future held. Not exactly the Christmas plans we thought we would have. There was no Christmas dinner prepared just some quiet time spent with family as we prayed and loved each other. While it was not ideal, it was all we needed. This year definitely helped me to slow down and remember what is truly important and that Jesus was born to save us all.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth
~John 1:14
The holidays can be messy, they can be hard, they can shake you to your core. What we can remember is that Jesus was born to save us. No matter what we are going through it is not bigger than him. There is Hope. It can come in all shapes, sizes, and signs. It may be the sunshine that peeks through on a cloudy day, or a call from a dear friend telling you how important you are to them. It may be a heart-felt gift from someone or even a card. Don’t get caught up in the BIG things. Look for the hope and goodness everywhere.
As we embark on a new year, month and day, look for the good. Take a deep breath. Slow down. While we promise ourselves each year that the next holiday season isn’t going to be so crazy and we are going to keep it simple, once the holidays roll around its easy to forget the mantra we made the previous year. What we can do is recover after. Relish in silence. Spend time in the Word, find a devotional and take time for conversation with friends or even the stranger you meet. We get so hung up on New Years resolutions that involve weight loss, clean eating and exercise we forget to better our minds and our spiritual growth. Wether it be reading or conversations. I encourage you to take a couple of minutes a day and open the bible. Hey you can even find an app for that! Let this be the year that you grow (in a positive way) spiritually and mentally. Instead of looking for the ways to “lose” in the new year, look for ways to GROW!
No day is going to be perfect, and even if a day is we can almost bet the next day will have challenges. Take each day and make it the best. I wish you all a blessed, happy, and healthy 2019! Let’s make a mark on this year, why not start today…
May you find joy in the 2019 journey!
Under the Clutter 