Reflecting

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I'm sitting  alone in my room after finishing our last Christmas party for 2015.  I am an introvert by nature, so being with lots of people isn't the way I fill my cup.  I enjoy people, and parties, but always feel drained until I can come home and turn down the lights and noise and activity and just settle in peacefully.  As I do this, I can reflect on this amazing holiday season.  God has been so good to me, again and again.  When I think of all the people who gave and received blessings to make this holiday better, I smile.  When I think of how much fun we had shopping and planning and wrapping gifts, doing our special elf game, having the secret santa happen for the school kids......I smile.  When I look back on all of the good food, meaningful time spent together and memories made, I smile.  Jesus' birthday was recounted, and told, and remembered and celebrated and lived out this year, and it makes me smile.  I cried some tears this season as well, and that's ok, too. 
 
I'm not sad that Christmas 2015 is done.  I'm grateful.  Because Jesus lives, I will wake up tomorrow living expectantly for more blessings, more goodness, more grace and more joy in His Holy Name.  I want every day to feel like Christmas.  The music will be different and we will put the old carols away for now.  The tree will come down, as will the decorations.....and we won't buy quite as much stuff for awhile. 
 
The news is for-casting a big snow storm tomorrow.  That's just fine with me.  I have work I can do from my home office.  We have a fridge full of leftover holiday food.....and everyone seems content here.  Well, at least for the moment. 
 
As the candles burn and reflect off each other, so I hope we can also reflect off one another, the beauty of this season and the lingering blessing and light that we can enjoy again and again because the holiday is about our Savior's Birth.  He came to live.......for us.   

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