Thank you Lord, again, for another Thanksgiving / Christmas / New Year Season!
“…and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” John 1:14
Thank You that You are here and have made Yourself known. Thank you for church calendars that set aside time to focus on Your Good News that You have come to us in the Person of Jesus..
Thankful for my family, starting with Darling Bride and Adult Children. Also thankful for extended family. My parents are alive and well, Darling Bride’s parents alive and well, Adult Children are local and with us this Christmas. We are all going into this Season with different perspectives, blessings, trials, and expectations; I pray that we may enjoy each other’s company this Season. May I be an encouragement and example. For those of us who hold The Reason for The Season in common, may we celebrate together. For those of us who do not see eye to eye on Your existence, goodness, and mercy, if I’m not able to proclaim Your Good news, may I at least illustrate it by my speech and conduct. For those who don’t see Your Gospel as good news, may I be a good ambassador.
Thank You that another one of Your gifts includes free time. As far back as I can remember, time off from school for Christmas Break has been a big deal for me. Not only elementary school through high school, but also after University final exams, I always appreciated the end of December as “crossing the finish line,” or being “done.” Thank you for a career that allows me to (more or less) continue time off for family and rest for a week. One of the hard parts early in my career was going back to work on December 26. I know most people don’t have that luxury, so I pray that I don’t take this gift for granted.
While I’m on the subject of thankfulness for free time, I’m also thankful for a good career that provides holidays, paid time off, and a salary that can budget for gift giving. Thankful that it is more happy to give than to receive!
Thankful for clients and co-workers to serve.
Thankful for a local church family to celebrate with, thank You that our big mega-church in the suburbs keeps You the Main Thing, on mission to ignite a passion to follow Jesus. May all of us who are active members, leaders, elders, and pastors never forget our core values of the preeminence of Jesus, authority of the Word, redemptive community, extravagant grace, unity in diversity, and the call to go.
Sorry that I worry about many things during this Season.
I worry about travel weather. Whoever first sang, “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas…” perhaps didn’t have to worry about “…over the interstate and through the side streets, to Grandmother’s house we go…” Once again I pray for dry, clear roads and enough warm weather for safe travels. If I wrote Christmas songs,
White Christmas would be, “I’m dreaming of a dry Christmas, not like the ones in Buffalo…”
Let it Snow would be, “Since we’ve someplace to go, stop the snow, stop the snow, stop the snow…”
Maybe I’ll just trust your sovereignty regarding the weather.
I worry about work. There’s always something I could be doing, and always e-mails to respond to. The flip-side to having December 24 – January 1 off, I suppose. Thankfully I’ve not gotten Outlook installed on my new phone yet, and may I not worry about that.
I worry that I may temporarily forget that Your good news is just that, Good News, that I might be distracted by all the logistics of this Season.
Christmas break is nostalgic in its own way, I think, because it can be a tangible example of a simpler time if we choose. No homework, no school, sleeping in, staying up late, with Christmas Day the crescendo. I’m thankful I get to re-live some of that simplicity. While not eliminating responsibilities for a week, reducing them and the related stress enough to allow visions of morning coffee and comfy pants dancing in my head as I write this!
More things to pray for this Season
I pray for me, that I may truly rest this Season, use my time well, and be a blessing for others.
For my community, city, state, county, and world, thank You that we are free to travel, live, work, and go about our business without interference (mostly), that we are free to worship (or not worship), and meet freely. Yes, we have problems, many of them of our own making because we have turned away from You, so have mercy on us all.
For Your kingdom to come, Your will to be done, for our daily provision, for forgiveness, for avoidance of temptation and deliverance from evil,
Finally, for this Most Wonderful Time of The Year to be truly wonderful. Thankful that despite our active rebellion, You Yourself came to us as a person during a specific time in history as Jesus of Nazareth, then lived the perfect life we could not live, then died on on a cross, then rose from the dead so that those of us who receive Your mercy will one day enjoy a perfect friendship with You in a new heaven and earth.
To all, a Merry Christmas (and Happy New Year) week!