As we begin today, I trust you and your family had a wonderful Christmas. It was interesting having it fall in the middle of the week. We were at the church Saturday morning for a rehearsal with the choir for their Sunday presentation. Then in the afternoon for a Celebration of Life for one of the brothers who passed away. It was a very special time for the family and so many including family from all over the country were there. It was a blessed time and I was honored to be able to lead that service. Of course, we were back Sunday for the choir to present “The Hope of Christmas”. They did a marvelous job with the great songs and carols of Christmas.
So, to keep the pace of the holiday, like you probably were, we were back Christmas Eve for a very special Christmas Eve Lord’s Supper Service. I love that service each year. It is one of my favorites. The reason is the simplicity and focus of the service. We hone in on the reason for the season, the birth of our Savior. Then we are remembering through the Lord’s Supper what that same baby in the manger did at Calvary.
So Christmas has come and we have rejoiced in it and what it represents. We move onto a New Year that is coming in just a few days. Many are traveling and some are making specific plans for the year to come. Someone might say that life goes on. You know it really does and so that is why we have to have special times like the holidays to pause and celebrate life and the giver of life.
As we enter this week between Christmas and the New Year, you can probably say so far so good. Now for some the holidays are a difficult time of year. There can be a lot of heartache for some because of their life. The situation someone is in is less than tolerable. People and how they act are often a problem. As my great grandfather used to say “there just ain’t no accounting for people”. Daddy Will was right and this was a man who had a wife and family like so many others. However, it was a time before pension plans, 401K’s and even Social Security. He went to work one day and they said by the way we don’t need you any more. He was a street car conductor for the electric company who ran the system in Tampa. Surprisingly they have put a line back in the Channelside and Ybor City area of Tampa.
You see Daddy Will had to start from scratch and build up a business of yard and handyman work so he could provide his family. He did and he never got rich but they made it work. We have in our house things and tools he used. I have the handmade tool box and some of the tools and levels he used. His change maker from his days as a conductor even the banner from this conductors hat.
This doesn’t make him special but does make him a reminder that life is not always easy. Everything doesn’t always go our way. Yes, he could have thrown his hands in the air and said this isn’t fair. You owe me and someone should take care of us. He didn’t and neither should we.
Proverbs 6:6-11 ESV has an important word for us about life-
Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.
Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.
The writer makes it clear by using the example of the ant that we are supposed to tend to ourselves and our families. Doing all we can and should to make provision. Because as the writer continues we see the result of not heeding the example of the ant.
How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man
As you continue in this wonderful season from Christmas to New Year’s, take the time to pause and celebrate the joy of the Lord. Consider your own needs and commit to doing all you can do and do it. Remember the Lord is always there as He has never left you not forsaken you.
So far so good, have a Happy New Year. See you in 2025.
In God’s Grace,
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