It was early November.  My husband and children had finally won the argument, and we were pulling the Christmas bins from the attic.  I wasn’t in the mood.  As a rule, I don’t decorate for Christmas until the weekend after Thanksgiving.  Fall is my favorite season of the year and it didn’t feel like I had enjoyed it to its fullest yet.  It was unusually warm this year, and I wasn’t ready to let go of the prized pumpkins on my hearth before the first cold snap arrived.  I hand-selected those beauties at the grocery store to go with the rest of my decor, and they weren’t even rotting yet! My reluctance to let go of fall a little sooner this year melted when my kids told me how much they loved the Christmas lights.  Me too!  It’s my favorite part of the season. The lights remind me of the hope we have in Christ.

Hope.  This is the season of hope.  The one season we get each year that always slips by too quickly.  It is the season anticipated by children and children at heart.  We save up for it, and it receives the most attention and planning. The one that ushers in all the parties, food, and people we haven’t seen for months. It’s the one with all the expectations of how things should be, and sometimes, it feels like nothing ever turns out the way it should. When expectations aren’t met, and anticipation wanes with the realization of unfulfilled hopes, disappointment sets in.  This disappointment isn’t necessarily about gifts (or the lack of) or people we didn’t get to spend enough time with.  Disappointment often comes knocking with the dread of the season being over too soon and the Christmas lights aren’t shining anymore.  

I have learned that I will feel this way almost yearly; many others have also wrestled with these thoughts.  It’s hard to articulate the feeling of loving Christmas and wanting it to last forever while also not wanting to look at a Christmas tree in every room of my house year-round.  It’s even harder to admit that sometimes, January seems less appealing than December, and there’s not much to look forward to once all the Christmas bins are tucked away.  

December is a natural, slowing-down month. January calls me out to step up and pick up the pace.  I’m a born planner.  It’s in my DNA.  If my New Year goals are not written down before 12/31, I feel behind before the new year begins.  Every year, my husband and I take time out to plan for business, family, and personal goals for the upcoming year.  It goes with the natural flow of things to be prepared and expectant for the new year.  A blank calendar waiting to be filled with all the appointments – some will be the ones we don’t yet know about or couldn’t possibly imagine.  But sometimes, I don’t even want to get started with the planning. I think part of my reluctance to drag the Christmas decorations out this year was that deep inside, I didn’t even want to start the season because I knew the sadness of it all being over would soon follow.  It always does. 

The Christmas season reminds us that just as the world once anticipated a Savior, we, too, anticipate His return, and in Him, there is no disappointment.  

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we also have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we celebrate in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” Romans 5:1-6

Advent. Christmastime. It all points to the preparation of His return by mirroring that same preparation of the birth of Christ so many years ago. That’s what we have to look forward to!  That’s what all the lights, decorations, food, and loved ones should remind us of – a celebration of His return! One day, the lights will never go out, there will be no more sadness, and the years will never end.

That anticipation we learn as children never really dies as we age.  That’s why I love Christmas so much.  A thrill of hope. When all the Christmas decor is tucked away in the bins and neatly stacked in the attic, it’s the lights I miss the most because they remind me that the Light of the World is coming back soon and the celebration will never end.

Ardently His,

Jessica 

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