A time to Take it Down...

I catch some slack from friends and friends of friends, who know about this "quirk" I have. This tendency to put away my Christmas decor shortly after Christmas. Most of the time it's on Boxing Day, but on the rare occasion I have put it away the eve of Christmas (yep, you can insert a gasp right here).

I've done it twice, to be exact. Once in 2006. And then again this year.

To the outsider, it may look like I'm dealing with chores when I should be relaxing with family. Or that I'm wanting to put away the remains of Christmas and just get on with life.

But nothing could be further from the truth.

You see, when it comes to setting up the tree, the excitement of children fills the room. Traditions are kept and followed through, with "Who put the star on top of the tree last year?". Hot cocoa is steaming in mugs. Pictures are being taken and the flash of cameras and lights give a glow to the room. Sometimes, bickering breaks out between sisters because they wanted to put that ornament, on that branch, on that side. Decorating can become a frenzy of tangled tinsel and broken jingle bells, along with concerns to make everything look pretty.

As much as I enjoy those times and cherish them deeply, that's not what Christmas is for me. And putting away the Christmas tree & decor is much more calming. It's a purposeful time, when I get to strip it all back and remember.

I do it by myself, while my family hovers around the fire, playing with new toys and discoveries. As they relish in the abundance of gifts around them, I'm doing the very same thing. It just looks different.

Because in that moment I have space to breath, I have air that is Holy with His peaceful presence, and I see this time as ours. Sacred. We commune over the taking down and He speaks words of expectation into my heart, for the year to come. My spirit is warm with gratitude, this is never a chore to me. It is our time, our reminiscing about the current year that is coming to a close. I whisper prayers of thanks with each ornament that has precious memory. This is my time to enjoy what we place in the shadows, all the while realizing that Christmas is far more then the gold & red glass balls that hang on lofty branches.

Christmas is about the crimson red that ran through the veins of baby, who would live a life to give us Hope, a death to give us life, and a resurrection to fulfill a promise.

As I pack away the things that are just reflections, I am more aware of The substance that lives... Not in the coziness of a decorated home, but in the beating of every heart that believes.

The heart that knows Christmas is about worship, not just for one day... but for all of them.

Christmas lives and breaths, daily. And it isn't dependant on the time line I keep my home wrapped in evergreen and pinecones. Christmas is about birth and newness of life thru the One who came with no decoration at all. As much as I love my home sparkling with twinkling lights and the aroma of cinnamon, I wait eagerly for my moment, which is lovingly intentional, to package it up until next year. I listen. I worship. I give thanks. I recognize the graces. And I earnestly desire His will for the coming year.

Slack or no slack. This is what we do. Saviour and me.

Let it be during the quiet of eve on Christmas or the day to follow, it really doesn't matter. For I know He is the gift, I know He the reason, and I know He is with me always (even without a tree).

For what would be a tree, if not for the cross?_ His blood poured out for me.