HOLIDAYS
Well, we made it through Thanksgiving and Christmas. Some of us just barely made it. Some of us sailed through like it was just a day in the park. Most of us fell somewhere in the middle. But we got the two “biggies” done for another year.
But, there are always more holidays. Fortunately, we are sandwiched between two that are not too terribly stressful. New Year and Valentine. So, how did you do through New Year’s? The most stressful thing about that holiday is the “Resolutions”! The best one for me is when I finally said, “I resolve to quit making New Year’s Resolutions.” Now, that one I have been able to keep! Then I was reading in Colossians recently. Look at 1:9-10: “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;” (ESV). I was reminded that Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, gave us a sobering charge of how we should live our Christian lives every day. It looks to me like we made an agreement with the Lord when we became baptized believers, and promised to obey his commandments. We promised to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and we were going to do our best to be fully pleasing to him. That’s a pretty big resolution. And we should make it one we renew day by day. And the two goals of living up to that resolution? One is to bear fruit in every good work, and the second is to increase in our knowledge of God. It’s quite likely that if we live up to that resolution, a whole lot of other issues in our lives will take care of themselves.
And, of course, Valentine’s is quickly approaching. If you still have children in grade school, you may have a few dozen cupcakes or heart-shaped cookies to bake. (A tip from an older, wiser grandma – there is some pretty good stuff at the grocery store. And those kids couldn’t care less if the sugar rush is homemade or store bought)! But mainly it boils down to us trading expressions of love with our husband. You want a great big expression of love? Here’s a really big deal: Col. 1:11-14. Read it; read it again. Really think about what our heavenly Father is giving us. Every day is a gift of love from the Creator of the universe. He wants to give us the power, through his glorious might, to have endurance and patience with joy. He has qualified us to share in the inheritance of being in the kingdom of his beloved Son with all the other saints. He has transferred us out of darkness into the kingdom of light. We have redemption and forgiveness of sins. I’d say that’s a pretty powerful, wonderful, amazing gift – on Valentine’s Day, and every other day of our life here on this earth!
Holidays can be fun. They can be some great times for making memories. They can bring us joy and laughter. But these are all temporary. Let’s never forget that we want to live our lives here on earth in such a way that we will be included in the holiday that last for all eternity. Patsy Shero