The After Christmas Blues

Christmas is such a buildup. We prepare, we dream, we overindulge, we anticipate, we decorate, we shop, we celebrate, we say goodbye. The saying goodbye part for me is always the worst part of Christmas every year. At some point the celebrating ends and normal life resumes.

One of my favorite Christmas movies is Elf with Will Ferrell playing the lovable character Buddy, who as a toddler was accidently transported to Santa’s workshop and raised as an elf. The character which is most intriguing is Buddy’s birth dad, Walter Hobbs, who Buddy sets out to find once he’s an adult. Buddy is as cheerful as a person can be, while Walter is a modern day grinch, finding something wrong with just about everything. It seems everyone around Walter is happy and cheerful, and he remains grumpy and critical, until the end of the movie. It’s almost as if being around cheerful people transports his attitude and his life, and those around him seem to pull him out of his grinch state.

Positivity is contagious. 

Life is hard.

Living means we will face difficulty.

Loving others means we will hurt and grieve at some point.

But how we choose to walk through life is entirely up to us.

We can go through life praising and looking to God. Or we can wallow and scowl at the future.

While in church the Sunday after Christmas I looked across our sanctuary and saw my church family worshipping. One woman stuck out among the rest—she had her arms raised as she praised and celebrated Jesus. This implanted my heart because I knew this woman has a daughter who is battling cancer and she often helps her daughter get through the devasting treatments. And yet, there she was raising her hands in worship and thanking God for the gift of Jesus Christ.

We all have hardships.

We can look to God for guidance.

We all have trials.

We can praise God for life.

We all suffer.

We can praise God for the gift of Jesus.

As we walk one step at a time looking up with arms raised and hearts open, we can trust our Heavenly Father who loves and takes us through one day at a time until He transports us into glory.

“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

-Matthew 6:34

For more from Lucille Williams check out her books The Impossible Kid: Parenting a Strong-Willed Child with Love and Grace, and for your marriage, From Me to We, and The Intimacy You Crave. We invite you to subscribe to LuSays today for weekly encouragement.