Ramona Richards @RamonaRichards

So today is Thursday, the day after Christmas. How are you feeling? Exhausted? Relieved? Excited?

Over the years, I’ve discovered that many people have traditions for the day after Christmas just as they do for the previous two days. Some celebrate Boxing Day, which used to be the day for exchanging gifts. Christmas Eve and Day were sacred days for prayer, worship, and family intimacy. Then the wrappings flew on December 26^th.

Other people celebrate with naps and leftovers (totally understandable!). It’s a big shopping day for some. Still others approach it with a sigh, glad that life can start getting back to “normal,” whatever that is.

My traditions are much quieter and more mundane. A friend asked me recently about loneliness during the holidays. He knows my situation, and I appreciated the question. While it’s something I think about occasionally, I don’t dwell on it. My immediate family always had small celebrations, and my brother and I would go to the movies on Thanksgiving and Christmas, sometimes the days after as well. We read, napped, and had quiet chats. When I was married, my in-laws had (and still do) huge family gatherings, involving cooking that went on for days, and a room full of presents. I enjoyed them, but always found them a bit intimidating. Big crowds, even family, aren’t usually my favorite places to be.

So I look at this time not as one of loneliness but one of renewal. To worship, focus, and recoup my energy. In some ways, it’s like the days after I finish a book. After the celebratory relief, there’s a time of reflection, rest, and refocusing on the next project. Not just a “post-project” reflection but a “post-year” reflection.

So, if you can, I urge all of us to take a pause, catch our breath, and remind ourselves why it is we write. Who is our main focus? And what does He have in store for us over the next year?

Most of all, I want to ground myself in His love and guidance. This is the time of my favorite classic prayer, the Prayer of St. Francis, a gentle reminder that all I do has one purpose: to live for Him and make sure I use His gift to me in the best ways possible.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Merry Christmas, y’all, and I hope you have blessed 2020.

Ramona Richards is the author of 11 books and is the associate publisher for Iron Stream Media, the parent company of New Hope Publishers, Iron Stream Kidz, and Ascender Books. She recently received the Joann Sloan National Award for the Encouragement of Writing, a mentoring, editing, and coaching award. She speaks frequently for women’s and writers’ groups, and has presented at numerous conferences across the country. Her latest book, Murder in the Family, is available now at https://shoplpc.com/murder-in-the-family/

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