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| Generated with the help of AI tools |
Christmas doesn't end on December 25. In fact, it is the first day of Christmas with 12 more to come. This sacred season finally ends on January 5 which is the day before Epiphany; when many parts of the world celebrate 3 Kings Day. The days between December 25 and January 6 are strange ones. Many people have some or all of those days off. Some years people go on vacations and other years they find ways to spend that time close to home.
Some years people have to work. If you work in retail or healthcare in the United States they are busy years as people spend gift cards and cram final doctors visits in on the current year's deductible. I imagine a surgeon's calendar is very busy on those last days of the year. If you work in an office where most people and clients have taken the time off, it can be a good time to catch up on paperwork and be the one to pick the music for a change. But the days can be lonely and so very slow.
I've experienced all of these things in one way or another. But my main experience during these 12 days of Christmas is that of waiting. These 12 days are a liminal space between years, appointments, celebrations, responsibilities and relationships.
And that waiting can be uncomfortable. I'm not used to waiting. I'm used to rushing from one thing to another and bending time and circumstances to my will for my ends. But at Christmas all those tactics seem to fall away. I lose control of time and, like most people, I don't enjoy losing control.
What is it with waiting around at Christmas? In my Bible readings this year, I've noticed that waiting is everywhere. Zachariah and Elizabeth wait for years to have a baby and then when the miracle happens Zachariah must wait 9 months in silence because of his unbelief. Simeon and Anna waited their whole lives for the Messiah to be born and were rewarded in their old age. Mary waited 9 months for Jesus to be born; suffering ridicule and gossip as people around her assumed the worst. The Magi waited patiently as they traveled in hopes of seeing a great king. The shepherds had to stay awake all night watching the sheep and were surprised by angels during one of their long nights of waiting.
As I consider all these instances of waiting, what I noticed is "Who was in control!" The humans are waiting because God is working. He is doing something amazing in His own way and on His own time.
I'm coming to see that the waiting during the 12 days of Christmas may be one of God's greatest gifts to us; beyond the gift of His Son Jesus. When we are in between and out of control, God can finally do the work He has planned. He can start to frame our thinking and form our decisions. These 12 Days of Christmas are a gift.
But my experience over many years of Christmases is not an encouraging one. I have waisted this gift more often than I have cherished it. I have spent those days creating busyness, activity, expectations and regrets. I have pushed my angst onto others and I have withheld my time from God. All this activity and very little to show for it.
I think it is time I stop and wait. And in the waiting, allow God to do the framing and the forming that will prepare me for a fruitful year of service to my King.
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| Read More Generous Mind Christmas Reflections Here |
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