I just took down the tree and placed the nativity set in its storage box.

Seems strange to me- Christmas in a box! I hope that, although I have put Christmas up, stored it for another year… I hope Christmas is wrapped all around me, that I “wear” the results of Christmas… that people who connect with me will somehow KNOW that I had an encounter with Christmas and in some small way I’m changed.

How will they KNOW, I wonder?

It occurred to me as I carefully took each ornament off the tree (our family has a traditional Christmas tree- ornaments reach back 38 Christmases. The decorations on our tree tell a family story- a young couple who painted their own ornaments for the first Christmas, ornaments gifted by family members and special friends, ornaments created with tiny eager-to-please pre-school and elementary school hands, and ornaments exchanged at laughter filled and joyful Christmas parties. Each ornament has a story behind it. Oh- yes and I inherited four or five amazing ornaments from my husband’s great aunt’s collection of handmade “tree pretties.”) It occurred to me that, as I examined my ornaments, my mind journeyed back in time to:
days when little boys stared in wonder at shepherds and wise men bowing before a baby,
evenings when Christmas music set the tone for We Three Kings Looking for Baby Jesus games, and
nights spent camped beneath the tree- all lit up.

As I wandered backwards in time I realized I had to put a leash around myself. Instead of feeling comfort and joy I began to feel sadness and loneliness. Too much melancholy concentrating on the past does that- precious memories, if not brought into check, lead me down paths of pessimism. You know- life was great when…

When in reality since I have been touched by Christmas I need to be looking for paths of optimism and gratitude.

"Thank you Lord for my rich life so full of memories. May I always be ready for new adventures and opportunities, knowing that life doens't come to a halt just because another Christmas has passed. I put my hope in You asking that You continue to use my life and make it meaningful, give me purpose so I might glorify You."

It also occurred to me that this time of year there are two kinds of people- those who look back, those who anticipate the future.

Ah – the future. When Jesus came two thousand years ago, He came to forward thinking people. Those who did’t want to look back, those whose hope was in the future, something new. They hoped.

I continued putting Christmas in a box. And as I did I found myself anticipating the end of this chore. I placed everything that represents the celebratory nature of Christmas back in storage and realized Christmas isn’t going into storage and neither am I!

In a few more days we will ring in the New Year and I am reminded of so much future, so much to do, so many to touch. I am reminded of a LOVE that has been placed in my life so I can share it with others. I am reminded – I can’t put

SHINE

in a box!