I was once given a whimsical little book entitled “101 Uses for Fruit Cake”. It was a timely gift as I always have leftover Christmas cake. For days, its humour-filled pages left me chuckling. The days following the Christmas season are filled with leftovers, which are either wonderful or bittersweet depending on who you ask.

For the cook, all the leftover turkey, trimmings the holiday baking are a blessing. For children, the extra time away from school is great. For some though, the days following Christmas are an emotional rollercoaster of feelings of emptiness and disappointment. The Christmas parties are over, the gifts have been opened, the wrappings recycled and the excitement and anticipation of the holiday has fizzled out. It leaves many wondering why it can’t be Christmas every day.

But it can be Christmas every day when you follow Jesus. At Christmas, we celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus, the incarnate deity, a man who during His life on earth met with people and spoke with them and prayed with them and loved them as they loved Him. He is Immanuel, God with us, and within us, when we accept Him as our Lord and Saviour and His relationship with us does not end on December 26.

For the believer, Christmas is celebrated every day because we have the joy of knowing that He is with us always, every day of every month of every year.

We have an opportunity to be a part of the recovery process for those who lose their joy and their hope and their peace when Christmas is over for another year. We can show them, through our actions, the love and the hope that we have found in Jesus. We can send them a card of encouragement, meet them for a cup of coffee or find a special need that they have and help to fill it. It is within our power to demonstrate to them that peace on earth and good will toward all of us is not a temporary condition. Will you join me throughout the coming year by sharing the gift of Christmas with those in need?

Matthew 1:23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel –which means ‘God with us’.”†

Matthew 28:20b “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”