December 1

There is something fresh about December 1. We totally get past the pumpkins; orange, brown and the scattered, dead leaves of fall. We start fresh with the vivid, clear colors of December. Red and green is the backdrop with blue and white dancing all around. I’ve always been one who loved primary colors – crisp, bright, joyful and happy is the mood on the canvas. We are always rushed, cramming more into one month than it deserves. It seems to require such solid colors to bear the load. December can handle it without a doubt! It is happy and bright, bringing with it joy and laughter from the people we love most. November has prepared us with thankfulness, so, we are ready to give with cheerfulness. Thank you November.

I love the strong and sentimental Christmas music, the colored lights from every sightline, and the crisp cold air than snuffs out the bugs and muck from the sky. I love the fireplaces with the unmistakable crackling sound of burning logs. I love scarves, hats, boots, bright ribbon made into perfect bows and, if we are really, really lucky, soft white flakes that magically fall from the sky onto our tongues, quickly coving the earth making it look like a winter wonderland. Between the lights, the clean cool air, and the pure white ground it is almost more than our hearts can indulge. So, with our arms full of gifts and lists, we stop long enough for our hearts to swell up into our throats quite, literally, taking our breath away.

With the incomprehensible speed of a mind only God could mysteriously create, we flash back over decades of Decembers from the past. Just for a moment, which seems like only yesterday, we smell the sweetness of grandmas kitchen. We try to grasp onto people no longer with us on this earth … people who made those moments so special. Then, it’s gone and we are left with tearful, blurred eyes and a humble heart, feeling so blessed to have those precious memories to hold.

What a gift that is!

But what if there were a greater gift even still …a gift that made all the other things possible in the first place? Wouldn’t you want to know what that is? Or rather who? The Bible tells us that our greatest gift came down from heaven, wrapped in swaddling clothes, humbly lying in a manger. He already came with a name! It is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace, King of Kings, Deliverer, Immanuel — God with us, Our Redeemer,  Our Indescribable Gift! His name is Jesus!

Filled with indescribable joy, we acknowledge how very blessed we are to know Him and experience the wonderful life we have been given.

Imagine all that and I haven’t even mentioned the hot chocolate!

Just Jesus,

Sheri Langley