Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Happy New Year to you! I hope that you enjoyed a wonderful Christmas season and pray that 2024 is off to a good start for you! As January begins to wind down and we find ourselves deep into the season of winter, I find myself pondering both this month and season.

If truth be told, I am one of those people who find January a bit of a challenge – at times to the point of struggle! First of all, there is always some experience of the post-Christmas letdown after sharing some good time of joyful gift giving and receiving, of rest and relaxation from the regular work schedule, and of enjoying the many festivities of the season. Whether in church or at home, or inside or out, the holiday season is full of invitations to gather together with family, friends, and community in celebration of the bonds that unite us and lift us all up unto the hope that “peace on earth and good will toward all” is not only God’s longing for us, but maybe ours too.  

While I appreciate that in some ways Christmas would not be as special as it is if the season were without an end each year, I miss its unique events and occasions when it is over. The inspirational events and celebrations of the season give way to a return to the regular in January, with the cold of winter and the threat of harsh weather only adding to the decrease of energy that challenges many of us ‘to get up from under the covers’ and get moving into the new day before us. I also personally find January a challenging month for me because even though we are only three weeks into the new year, I have already broken my resolutions to eat less, to walk more, and to spend more quiet time in prayer and reflection! For these and other reasons January can be a challenging month, and winter a tough slog, with cooler if not freezing weather, amidst the mix of rain, sleet, and snow that often come with both. 

So how do we rise to their challenge? How do we stay awake, smiling, and hopeful when winter can seem long and dreary in January, especially after Christmas? I find hope and strength in the wisdom of the Twelve Step Spirituality which encourages living life ‘one day at a time and staying in the moment.’ I often think that January and winter would not be as difficult as they seem if I were to live them a day at a time and strive to be open to the grace of each moment of everyday. Rather than turn against myself for the challenges that January and winter bring forth, I might come to know that there is more to them in embracing each day as it comes and by choosing to live in the present moment. 

January is a month and winter is a season, and not the life sentence it can sometimes feel when we get too stuck in thinking or feeling it will never end. As with all of life, are we not most fully alive when we live it with openness to the present moment? Our faith also tells us that God is with us at every moment of our lives, inviting us to trust the words of Scripture: “behold, I am with you always, until the end of the world.”
 
January celebrates the beginning of a new year and reminds us of that perennial desire “to begin again” in the story and journey of our lives. Would we make resolutions if such were not the case? When we live January and winter one day at a time and see each day has a new beginning, it becomes more gift than a drag or a burden to be endured. 

Here’s hoping and praying that January finds us all beginning again and finding grace and peace in winter – one moment of a day at a time!