I love December, Not January

I love December. The anticipation and build up of Christmas makes each day feel special, exciting. The decorations and sparkles of the lights and festivities create such a sense of wonder and joy every day of the month! January does not offer us the same sentiment and meaning. January offers us a chance to set goals and better ourselves, a chance to nestle back in to our schedules and get life back in order. It offers cold weather and no holidays at all. I am scratching my head and wondering if there is anything I like about January at all.

Routine. Blah.

Typical.  Blah.

Same old, same old. Blah.

After a brief (well, maybe not too brief) pity party, I am brought back to my senses and realize God created January; so there must be some good in here somewhere. Looking for an answer, I crack open the Bible; I am always inspired by the miracles, the “impossible” made possible and the world changing events. I crave even more for those exciting and “big” occurrences in my own life. However, turning the pages, I am also reminded that even Jesus, the Son of God, had routine, standard parts of His life. We celebrate His birth and can read about him as a young boy teaching in the temple. He also had 3 years of ministry as an adult that literally changed the course of history for the entire world! But the in between parts are not mentioned, his 30 years of regular life after his birth, leading up to His time of ministry. What were those days like? Were they like ours? Boring. Familiar. Standards and deadlines. January. If Jesus had to experienced common life, we are drawn to believe that God has a purpose for these days as well, for all of us.

Is it hard to believe God has a part to play in the “everyday-ness”? Perhaps His role is even greater in the usual stuff than the unusual. "Normal" gives us an undeniable sense of just how AMAZING God is and how human we really are… and yet, God wants us to invite Him in to every part of our existence. He is our Heavenly Father that cares about the big details AND the little, humdrum duties of our lives. The typical days are just as much an invitation to confess our need for God and allow Him to reveal meaning and purpose in the day to day jobs: caring for our families and neighbors; serving our co-workers and church; working hard and living a life of excellence and diligence no matter the task at hand.

Now, I realize my heart longing for the BIG and the exciting is really longing for it in the form of God, Himself. In response, I invite January in… and celebrate it as an opportunity to discover my Lord again and again; I crave for Him to be in every element in all my days: in the thrilling and the run of the mill, in December and January!

God, come and be a part of every aspect of my life, for Your glory alone.