Time to take the tree down

I love Christmas. From my years as a kid going to Christmas Eve candlelight service, to running down the steps to see if Santa came, to making my first Christmas Eve dinner for my wife, to now watching my boys delight in all the lights, sounds, and joys of the season; I soak up Christmas. I try to sponge every ounce out of everyday.

BUT every year, just the same, Christmas ends. Every year I sit in my living room focused on where the tree used to be. All that's left now is NEEDLES that we will be vacuuming up until June. My living room doesn't look quite right.

So WHY ever year do I struggle with the end of Christmas? I mean JUST like I know every year Christmas is coming, I also know every year it's ending. AND I fully understand the ultimate joy of Christmas- it isn't the trees, lights, presents, or cookies- it's the baby in a manger. It's about JESUS!

So why do I start every January feeling a little empty?

I think it's because nothing on earth can fill that first manger of fill our "daily manger." What I mean is that no matter how hard we try and how much we celebrate, we can't replicate Jesus birth. Nothing at Christmas can fill that small little baby-sized spot that Jesus filled in Bethlehem AND in our world.

But the awesome reality is that Jesus is still as active and present in our lives on January 5th than He was on Christmas Eve, or when we were around our Christmas tree, or when we were at our dinner table. Matthew 1:23 states- ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”^[a] (which means “God with us”).

If you look closer at the picture of my empty living room, you'll something in the upper right hand corner. I don't mean the television, I did my best to cut it out but BECCA is the picture taker in our family. What I'm talking about is the cross. And that cross makes my point FOR me. Immanuel- God with us. Our trees may be down, the lights may be turned off, and our cookies may be stale- but God still present, God is STILL with us. 

So don't despair that this year's celebration of Christmas is over. It's time to enjoy that little bit of extra room in our living room anyways! Plus, there is another celebration coming up in April involving a tree as well that holds JUST as much significance. (SPOILER alert- Easter isn't all that far away)