December 26th through January 1st is a strange time of year.
The frenzy of Christmas preparations, travel, and celebrations has climaxed and most of us are ready to get back to our typical schedules. But the glimmer of approaching New Year festivities and another 3-day weekend ensures that normalcy will very likely not return until the final notes of Auld Lang Syne fade into the midnight air.
Children are not quite half way through a 2-week winter break, store exchange or return lines have dwindled, most of us have settled down to watch sappy movies and contentedly nibble on leftover culinary treats, while the weather lulls us into believing that 50 degrees is normal!
It’s easy to succumb to the stupor of between-holiday emotions. Much like the groggy feeling after indulging in too many servings of decadent holiday foods, we allow ourselves to imagine that nothing between Christmas and New Years Eve impacts us. After all, isn’t January 1 the official start of all our new changes?
Life will always be filled with countless “seasons”. Whether waiting in hopeful anticipation of a promised raise, waiting in dread for test results, waiting in eagerness for a long-planned vacation, everyone experiences times of “living in limbo” — seasons when all we can do is WAIT.
The good news is that, when we invite Him to do so, Jesus enters those periods of waiting and offers purpose and meaning to our expectance. Rather than passing the time in fear, worry, or frustration, a relationship with Him provides guidance and energy for each day.
The waiting provides time to consider the previous AND coming year.
What lessons did I learn? How did God provide specific answers to prayers? What part have I played in advancing His Kingdom?
What am I eager to learn in the next 366 days offered to me? How can I grow and share my faith in 2024?
During this “season of in-between”, reflect on your hopes, fears, dreams, and needs. Invite God to work IN and THROUGH your life to bring about His honor, glory, and purpose, then prepare for the best year ever.
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