The Day After Christmas

December 26, 2015 | My Jottings

I love December the 26th. If Christmas has been a particular happy one, then the day after Christmas is a good time for basking in the memories we’ve made the day before. If Christmas has been difficult (and I’ve had a few, as I’ll bet most have), the 26th feels like a new start, a return to the blessed ordinary, even before January 1st arrives.

Our house is in wild disarray this morning, but it’s because we had a blessed Christmas yesterday. We had eighteen of my favorite people on earth in our relatively small living room/dining room space. Because this was our first Christmas without Michael, I’m keenly aware that things can change in an instant, and today I want to replay all the snapshots of yesterday’s joy in my mind and write them all down in my gratitude journal to tell the Lord I saw. And received. And marveled.

I took a few pictures yesterday before everyone arrived, and will post more in a few days. Today I’ll share a picture of the additions to the front deck planters Sara did this week. Usually all the large ornaments are on the outside of the planter so they can be seen from the street. This year Sara decided we needed to enjoy the beauty more from inside the house as well, so she drove up to Menard’s and bought more outdoor ornaments and affixed them to the side of the planters we see from the the dining room. Since I have a lot of dark blue, deep red, and some robins egg blue decor, she chose those colors.

You can click to enlarge if you would like to see more detail.

I have this CD playing softly right now and the snow has begun to fall outside. A little while ago I stood out on the front deck in the dark as Edith and Millie were sniffing around in the yard, and I could see how thickly the flakes were falling in the glow of the street light. A winter storm warning has been issued for our area and we could get seven inches of snow. An inch an hour at times is what the weather man says, with very gusty winds. Of course that means it will be a blessed day at home, puttering, putting things back to normal, doing laundry and paperwork and my Community Bible Study lesson, making tea.

How was your Christmas? Did you have a joyous day of family and food and fun? Or did you spend it alone and weighted with sorrow? Was there strife or loneliness or disappointment in your celebration, or lack of one? I pray for all of us that Psalm 16:11 will guide us through the coming year:

You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Lord, I pray that you will lead us on the paths you have set out for us, and give us all grace to truly follow you. I ask for your comforting presence to be with us in personal ways we can recognize, and that we will experience the fullness of your joy, which we know doesn’t depend on our circumstances, but only on you. And I thank you in faith for the pleasures you give, not as the world gives, but gifts that last forever and keep us close to you, dearest heavenly Father. I pray this for every soul reading, and for all those we love…in the name of Jesus, Amen.