Are you sorry Christmas is over? Are you really glad Christmas is over?

If you are feeling either of the above, I would argue that you are too caught up in the cultural Christmas, which has true Christmas out of balance.

I am not against cultural Christmas at all. Not one bit. I, too, have loved taking my children to meet Santa and putting cookies out for Santa when he drops in with gifts on Christmas Eve. I always had a lingering sense of jealousy, however, that Santa always got to give the best presents. This year, I watched as my grandchildren made reindeer food for Santa’s reindeer. That brought a smile to my face and happiness to my heart. So, I am not against the “Santa Claus Christmas” at all.

What I fight against within myself, however, is a proper balance between Santa and the Baby, Jesus. This year I stuck an almost magical balance between the two. Of course, it had nothing to do with magic, and everything to do with spending time with God and growing in gratitude for his Son. This thought kept running through my mind all month-long, “Without the Baby there would be no Easter, and Easter changes everything.” Thinking of this, over and over, brought me to a deeper level of appreciation for that small Baby in the wooden or stone manger.

So, as the cultural Christmas, with all its hustle and bustle, comes to an end (a few more days away for those of you taking gifts back), I am not sorry, and I am not glad that Christmas is over, because it isn’t.

Christmas is deep within my soul, like a baby in a cradle. It will continue to grow there because it is welcomed there, and will be loved and cherished. Although it is usually the baby who grows within its mother, and is fed and protected, now it is this Baby within my soul though which I will be fed and I will be nourished. I will grow in faith, trust, love, joy, and peace.

No, I’m not sorry at all. I am looking forward to the future, with a deeper sense of God within than I had before.

Thank you Holy God, once again, but even more reverently, for you Son, the Baby Jesus, the gift that changes everything.