By Lois Hewitt

And just like that Christmas is over. Done are all the decorations. Gone are the parties and get togethers. Thrown away is the wrapping paper. The leftovers have been eaten or frozen for another meal.  All the hoopla is done. All over in one 24 hour period.

When I was young I dreaded Christmas because I loved it so much. But I hated it more when it was over. As a child I would be depressed when the lights were taken down, the ornaments were boxed up and the silver tree taken down and returned to its dark slumber in the attic.  I was filled with such sadness.

I learned early on in life that all good things end.  For everything I ever looked forward to, I also anticipated its end. Many times this clouded the event itself because my thoughts were already over it.

Anticipatory grief it’s called. When you mourn the loss of something that will go away.  It usually is meant for those who grief someone’s passing that hasn’t passed yet.  As a young child,  I mourned my parents passing every time they were late getting home or when I did not know where they were. I anticipated and grieved the worst in every scenario. Then they would come home and I was relieved and exhausted at the same time.

Christmas was always an anticipated loss for me. I knew it would be over so I never really was able to enjoy it.  Much of life was that way for me. I’m not sure how the wiring in my brain works but I am pretty sure that there are a few wires not fully connected.

Today I see things a bit differently. Christmas is more than a day of lights, gifts and cookies. It is a day when we celebrate the greatest gift the world has ever received. The birth of Jesus. 

I realize now that the birth was only the beginning.  There was a life of teaching and leading by example. There was a lifetime of love and joy given. 

Then as we know from Easter, that life came to an end. Beaten and broken and hung on a cross, the human body passed. But three days later, the Spirit arose and that is something that will never end.

I see Christmas now as a beginning.  Yes, the flash and show ends every year but the meaning of it lasts long after the gifts are gone, long after the the calendar mores forward. Jesus does not go away. He is not put in a box stowed away for another year. He is alive today and will be tomorrow.

There is no anticipatory grief that can be associated with Jesus. He is not going anywhere, He already defeated death and He promises to be with His children always.

So if you are a little sad that the Christmas season for another year has passed, remember the true meaning of Christmas. There is no need to be sad for His children are forever cloaked in His perfect love.