Rambling on about Searching for the Christmas Spirit…

‘Twas the day before the day before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring except for me, restlessly searching for the elusive Christmas spirit. This year has unfolded like no other, filled with headaches and surreal happenings that have made simple joys hard to grasp. The usual warmth and excitement of the holiday season seem just out of reach, replaced instead by uncertainty and a tinge of melancholy.

As I reflect on the passing months, it is clear there has been no easy way through. Each day has brought new challenges, and the end of the year feels less like a relief and more like another step into the unknown. The fear of the coming year grows greater with each day, as the world seems to spin further into ignorance and madness. Headlines blur together, and conversations often circle back to worry and confusion.

Yet, even amidst the uncertainty, there are flickers of hope, moments when laughter breaks through, when the glow of holiday lights casts gentle shadows on the walls, when the aroma of cinnamon (The cinnamon smell of fireball-filled eggnog) and pine fills the air. These are reminders that the Christmas spirit is not lost, only hidden. It asks to be found in small acts of kindness, shared memories, and the gentle promise that even difficult years can end and new ones can begin.

As the sun rises on the day before the day before Christmas, I sit with the realization that the spirit I seek may not come in grand gestures or sweeping miracles. In reality, there is a quiet to this year’s season for me that seems to be very, very loud. Instead, the spirit for me might arrive in small, soft ways… in the comfort of a favorite song, the warmth of a blanket, a cup of eggnog, which is full of spirit, and sharing time with my mutts. Though the world outside feels chaotic, inside I can choose to hope, to believe in the possibility of better days, and to prepare to welcome the new year with cautious optimism.

So today, as I make my way through, I hold onto the hope that the Christmas spirit might find its way into my heart again.  And if not today, then maybe tomorrow, or the day after. For in the waiting, there is still a kind of magic, a reminder that even in the hardest years, the spirit of the season endures in small ways that matter. For me, I’m focusing on the real reason for the season… I find my greatest peace and my hope in God…