Stop. Don’t hurry to box up the ornaments and purge the regalia from your home! Early on the 26th day of December, a national morning show featured an expert happily talking about packing away decorations and properly disposing of your Christmas tree. “It’s time to move on” was the clearly communicated messaging. I want to suggest a different message.
The word savor is often associated with a fine meal and it means to let a food linger on your palate so you can fully enjoy the flavors. Meditate might be an appropriate synonym for savor in the spiritual realm. My favorite is ponder because I love thinking about the nuances of verses knowing there is always more to be discovered beneath the surface.
In liturgical churches Christmas is celebrated for 12 days, made famous by the carol of the same name. Letting the moments of remembering Christ’s birth linger allows the stupendous meaning of this pivotal event to settle more deeply in our souls. So I hope you will join me in slowing down this week and allow the true message to linger longer. Keep the Christmas music playing. Allow the lights and the sparkle to remind you for a few more days that the Light of the World has come and most importantly will come again!
Dear Barbara and Staff:
Please pray for me as my Mother who always sat in church but never accepted JESUS as Lord has been dead for almost twenty years now. She had the tree out the door and everything put away before the last present was even opened. One year my little baking dishes (some pieces of the set) got thrown into the trash and I was in tears and my dad nor my mom never cared enough to slow down and retrieve the pieces. Another Christmas I wanted to take a family picture because it was the last Christmas I was going to be at home (I was getting married) but they could not slow down enough to strike a family pose. Well they finally divorced and my Mother is now dead. These memories should not be so alive in my memory but they are just an example of MANY types of things that went on. I am starting to wonder if that father is really my dad since he never even came to my Mother’s funeral and I have not seen him in over twenty years. I need to never again have memories of either of them. When I look back I don’t know how I have even survived. The abuse was terribly worse than I can tell on the computer. Ask God to please deliver me from this. (I’m not sure what to even call it)
Sincerely,
Rhoda
I do enjoy the rest after Christmas. I keep our decorations up until the beginning of February. Christmas books on every family room shelf, looking out at me remind me to savor the gift of His birth for me. Nice reminder to enjoy and rest in Him. Thanks!
“Ponder” is one of my favorite words, so I was affirmed by your suggestion to ponder Christmas unhurried. Currently, I’m pondering, as I put baby Jesus away for another year, to not put away the significance of His incarnation and His human ability to sympathize with all our weaknesses. Thank you, Barbara!
I have not yet put mine away. Mostly for that very reason. It always feels wrong to just pack it away in such a hurry. Thank you for the message.
I agree wholeheartedly! It’s often the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day that I feel I can really enjoy and, as you put it so well, savor the season and all that God has done. I have been reading my favorite Christmas devos, listening to the carols, reading and praying over Christmas cards from friends, etc. I rejoice in the fact that Jesus’ birth impacts every day of my life, not just December 25th!
Thank you for your posts. I totally agree that we need to “savor” this time and not be in a rush to get back to “normal” whatever that is. This is a time of new beginnings! God bless your family and ministry.
Such lovely thoughts interwoven with wisdom. Thank you..
Blessings to you,
Tamara