I thought about the shepherds again. What was their life like on the day after the miracle they had witnessed on Christmas? What did they do with the day they had been given, as they went about their work in the fields? Did they just wait around and see if something else would happen? Did they wait for another glorious appearing?
What is left for us, when the food has been consumed, when the surprise of the presents has worn off and even when some of them are discarded? The warm glow of Christmas Day gives way to the reality of life to be lived. The room seems empty without the presents and the people of yesterday. What do we have left?
Sure, we still have the leftovers, the food in the plastic containers in the fridge, the pictures and videos to jog our memory of yesterday and the new stuff in our closets.
A word seemed to jump out at me this morning as I read a devotional online.
Opportunity...a chance to tell others what the Day meant to us, deep down in our souls. Like the shepherds in Luke 2:
"The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them."
Opportunity...to make this 'day after' meaningful, as we look again at the Gift that God gave.
Opportunity...for serving others with the same spirit of giving that made us feel good yesterday.
Every day that I wake up, God gives me opportunities. Will I take them today, or just sit and look at a tree that is almost ready for the trash bin?
I will take the opportunity to enjoy what God has provided, knowing that there is more to Christmas than sweet potato casserole.
Each new morning after brings new opportunities, to serve Him and to serve others in His Name.
I pray for wisdom and vision to see them, and then act on them.
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