The "In-Between" Time

 Good morning:

 This time of the year is what I think of as the “in between” time…the days between two major holidays…Thanksgiving and Christmas.  This is the time when much of the world, and especially Western cultures, bring the brightly colored ornaments and decorations out of the closet, string up lights of all kinds, decorate evergreen trees in their homes, and max out their credit cards on gifts for others.  It’s a festive time of the year, especially since the days are getting progressively shorter in daylight length, it’s getting colder, nature is brown rather than green, and we’re stuck inside much of the time.

For some, it’s also a time to recall and remember the birth of a baby boy some two thousand years ago who has, in the intervening centuries created incredible changes, for the better I would argue, in societies and nations through his teachings and example.  He has commanded untold millions of followers and disciples over the centuries, and his overall influence has not diminished over the years.

And then there’s the coming of the new year just a week after Christmas.  We collectively seek to “wipe the slate clean,” so to speak, and start anew.  The old joke about new year’s resolutions and their short lifespan in the new year is just as pertinent now as it has been for untold decades.  We try.  We really try to lose weight, stop a bad habit, be more thoughtful and generous, or any of a thousand other things that plage the human race.  And sometimes we really succeed.  But most of the time those good intentions go by the wayside somewhere around January 25^th.

There are some things, however, that cannot be covered over with bright lights, tinsel, snow, holiday music, or gifts under the tree.  Oh, they can temporarily disappear, but just like the snows that come and cover over everything in a white, glistening coat, eventually those snows melt and the brown that is underneath again comes into full view.

We all have to deal with the “browns” in our lives from time to time.  Illness and chronic health issues, financial difficulties, family problems, relationship issues, and a host of other ills and ailments are constantly attacking us, trying to get the best of us.  Sometimes the best we can do is to shove these things off to the side temporarily while we deal with more pressing things.  But sometimes these issues come front and center in our lives and demand immediate attention.  The snow has melted.  We see these things that were buried underneath now before us.  And they won’t go away on their own.  They may not ever go away, but can only be managed for a time.

I don’t mean to put a Grinch-like damper on the holiday season for you.  What I do intend to do is to possibly point you in a direction that ‘s different than the one you’re currently taking.  I said earlier that for some of us, this time of the year is a time to recall and remember the birth of a baby boy some two thousand years ago.  That baby boy, when grown, claimed to be, and I believe was indeed God in the flesh.  God incarnate.  God “pitching his tent,” so to speak, among us, as John says in the first few verses of his account of the life of Jesus.

Specifically, John says this about the man Jesus. 

In the beginning the Word already existed.  The Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He existed in the beginning with God.  God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.  The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him.  He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.  But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.  They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

So the Word became human and made his home among us.  He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.  And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

Jesus won’t take away the brown things.  But he will enable you to persevere as you walk with him through them. Paul the great Apostle tells the Corinthians that what we endure now is but a “light and momentary” thing.  Here’s specifically what he says:  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

May God bless as you continue on in this season of thanksgiving and renewal.