The day after

Christmas is climatic! The anticipation begins the day after Thanksgiving with Black Friday specials and television commercials that tug at the heartstrings. Homes are decorated with bright lights and yard ornaments.
Children give Santa Claus a wish list while parents capture the moment with a photo. The expectations of Christmas begin.
So many traditions during this time of year revolve around gift-giving and family-gathering activities. There are the usual Christmas Caroling and hot Apple Cider evenings as the scent of freshly baked cookies lingers in the kitchen. The traditional giving of gifts remains. However, some exchanges are enhanced with the “White Elephant” games.
In my youth, it became a tradition to stand around the burn pit with Dad as he sifted through the colored paper, looking for one missing piece of a gift lost during the excitement of Christmas morning. As a mom, I have tried different remedies to overcome this tradition. I have given my children the responsibility of their own trash bags. Fail! The bags were too soon forgotten. One Christmas, I tried to give out one gift at a time. Fail! The anticipation of my little ones overruled this idea as they began reaching underneath the tree, bypassing my approach.
The missing piece tradition seems to be unchanged. As a Grandmother, I know that sometime during the moments or days that follow Christmas morning, I will receive a phone call or a text telling me of a small piece of something missing from a gift. All too often, I am caught in the search and find tradition, looking through the endless mounds of paper and boxes for some valued treasure.
Regardless of our traditions, December 26 can be an emotional drop from the climatic Christmas morning. A person can feel lost when the excitement of previous days dies down. Suddenly, the lights lose their shine, the decorations become clutter, and the yard ornaments lay on the cold ground waiting to be returned to their boxes in a closet. The day after, we open our eyes to the demands of work, worry, and concern for loved ones.
Nevertheless, even if the tree looks empty, our hearts can still be filled with the joy of the previous days. The true spirit of Christmas is not our name on a gift but our name on a page in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Revelation 21:27), for we are more than a tradition. We are God’s valued treasure, the apple of His eye (Psalm 17:8). He gave us the gift of His Son, Jesus, so that we could know the true joy of Christmas.
There will always be a “day after” in life, yet we become more than conquerors because of His love for us. Scripture teaches that nothing can separate us from His love, not angels nor demons, not life nor death, not our today nor our tomorrow. The hope we found in Him on Christmas morning remains our hope the day after. (Romans 8:37-39).
Whatever the missing piece is in your life, trust it to the One who loves you. Allow the Lord to sift through the debris and restore what was lost to you. There is a reason to continue the celebration. We are engraved on the palm of our Father’s hand and continually before Him (Isaiah 49:16). The spirit of Christmas does not have to end when our hope and joy remain in Him.
Romans 15:13 ~ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope.

Cheryl Mixon-Cruce is Pastor of Ochlockonee Bay United Methodist Church and Sopchoppy United Methodist Church.