December and January are rough months for me. My ex's birthday is in December, he re-proposed in December, which means that he recorded me in the bathroom for the first time in December, and he was arrested and my world turned upside down in January.
What helps the most during this time period is Christmas. I absolutely love Christmas. I love the lights, the excitement, and I especially love how everyone seems to be a little bit kinder to each other during Christmas time.
But is seems that as soon as Christmas is over, when we all go into couch potato mode until New Years, I get hit with an extra dose of depression and anxiety.
I've been thinking a lot about one of my favorite Christmas/winter songs called the December Song (this version in particular).
This is the first chunk of the song:
In December,
We give our gifts
Wishing well to our world,
Peace on Earth to everyone.
A time to be joyful
When all is calm and all is bright
But why?
Does it change with the seasons?
And why can't we just hold on?
To silent nights,
Holy nights and angels singing lullabies,
And Heaven and nature, singing good will to all...
To all...
Especially with how difficult this time of year is, I know that I need Christ more than ever. But it can be hard to feel Him as society's collective focus on Him starts to slip away as quickly as the discounted Christmas candy.
I know that every day can't be like Christmas. Normal life has to continue on. The lights will come down and the excitement will fade. But I do wish that the spirit of Christmas, the Spirit of Christ, would linger more throughout the year. That that extra kindness that permeates December would continue and even grow.
And honestly, if that is going to happen, then we need to do more to remember and honor Christ's life, not only His birth. We need to make a greater effort to come to know Christ, to follow Him, emulate Him, and live His teachings. We need to study His words, consider His actions and inactions, and then do our best to do as He would do.
We need to not only make sure that people aren't alone on the holidays, but that they also feel loved on a Tuesday. We need to not only smile and wish well to our cashiers as we buy gifts, but also as we buy our weekly groceries. We need to Light the World through every month and season. Because as we do so, our own lives can feel a little bit brighter too.
My son has a Bible quiet book that we bring to church with us. He sometimes pulls it out throughout the week, wanting to play with it. Usually he just immediately pulls off anything with Velcro and throws it to the floor, but for the last week or so, he has seemed drawn to the baby Jesus. He takes him out and carries him around. He put Him on our dog's back one day. Another day he took him over to the window to show Him the outside. And I noticed that when he took the little felt baby out of the manger, he talked to it in the same sweet voice that he uses when he talks to the pets.
Of all of the things in that little book, the little Jesus is the only one that I've seen him act that way towards.
I hope that his sweet enthusiasm for Christ continues throughout his life.
It certainly showed me that even a child that can't yet speak can bear testimony of Christ. And that Christ is already a part of his life, even at such a young age.
Can we all do our best to not only keep Christ in Christmas, but to keep Him in our every day lives?
Christ doesn't only think of us on our birthdays, but every day of our lives. He is with us- loving us, serving us -in every moment.
When the lights come down, the lights within us should burn that much brighter. When the excitement fades, the more steady, consistent pleasure that comes from serving others can replace it. The joys of the Christmas season can continue throughout the year if we treat each and every day like a day to celebrate Christ.
Happy New Year everyone! May we all resolve to carry the Spirit of Christ from December to January and on through the rest of the year.
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| From a book of daily spiritual thoughts from Russell M. Nelson that a sister missionary gave me last year |
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| Another version of the quote from above |
