While on a walk through my neighborhood this week, I noticed many bare Christmas trees on their sides along the street, waiting to be picked up and taken away. Having once stood tall with wrapped gifts of all shapes and sizes nestled under them and with their many branches graced with colorful ornaments and lights, they are now no longer useful, needed, or wanted. Outside lights and yard decorations are also gradually being removed. I’m sure there is a lot of ‘taking down decorations’ going on in communities all around us. (Mine are down, packed, and in their boxes which are stacked and back in place.) Of course, these items are not gone forever; they’re just tucked away for about 11 months, but I note some sadness at this shift – at not seeing the beautiful reminders of the season of hope we anticipated then celebrated. Now with these joyful decorations out of sight, what remains of them and our holiday experience? Thankfully, Love.
Our preparations, our gifts, our time, and our greetings all acknowledge the nourishing and sustaining Love given to us by our merciful God. The love of special moments we experienced with friends and family, the love of sharing meals together, and especially the love of ‘God with Us’ all continue to grow within us and move our hearts even after the decorations are put away. Though holiday ‘clean up’ might feel like an ending, the season which included the anticipation of Advent, the joy of Christmas, and the guiding light of Epiphany is a beginning and is an invitation to renewal and to immerse ourselves in the Father’s complete love for us.
Today’s reading is clear. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. (1 John 4:16). This remarkable, healing, and strengthening love is to be lived and shared. When we open our hearts and rejoice in ‘God with Us,’ the light of God’s love continues to guide our journeys and to lead us in faith and trust. The season of decorations and wrapping gifts may be over for now, but the season of love and hope has been renewed. Let us fill ourselves with the gift of God’s love, offer His love to those we encounter, and follow where His love leads us.
Journeying to Grace 