More than a month has passed since Christmas… and I’m finally taking down our Christmas wreath.
It’s not because I forgot about it… I didn’t.
It’s not because I was too lazy or too busy to take it down… because I’m not.
Truth is… I like the wreath. I like how it looks. I like how it makes me feel. I especially like the hope of the Christmas season that it brings. Hope is a powerful thing. Can you blame a girl for wanting to keep hope around a little a longer?
I like everything about Christmas. One of my favorite things is the way people deck their homes with “boughs of holly” and lights. LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF LIGHTS! Icicle lights, multicolored flashing lights, inflatable figures illuminated, yes by light. I love them all. The decorations are like the sequins on black tie dresses, they amp up the sparkle and shine.
I love driving around in late January and discovering a lone house with its lights still up. It’s like finding a stray french fry at the bottom of the bag or an extra marshmallow in your hot chocolate! It’s like squeezing the last little bit from the toothpaste tube but instead we’re squeezing out the last drops of Christmas.
Tonight, though I realize it’s time. Our wreath has been up for months now… 64 days to be exact. Even though the mild weather has kept it looking good for a while, I’ll admit now the wreath is starting to look a little ragged. Its time to take it down. February is just days away.
So atop of the kitty litter and the rotten bananas I lay to rest our somewhat brittle but still fragrant Christmas wreath.
As I walk back inside with a sigh, I look up at the sky. It is crystal clear and glowing. Hundreds (Thousands? Millions?) of stars shine brightly above. In a flash, I’m reminded that the Christmas light I lament is with us all year-long. God just hangs his higher than we do.
I stand there for quite some time in bare feet and fuzzy bathrobe silence.
When was the last time you simply stopped and marveled at the vastness of the heavens?
My iPhone couldn't capture the beauty of the stars...
But it could capture me taking in the beauty of the Stars....
You can have sunshine all day, but sometimes the most enlightening moments come in the dark of night.
Tonight it happened over the trash can and under a sky full of stars.
Shine on!
TheSunshineStand 
The pictures ARE of a star.
You are too kind! Thanks Marty:)
My daughter used to say how depressing it was when January rolled around and it seemed all the houses, suddenly so cold and bare in the night, seemed empty compared to the brightly lit month before. I agree.
Julie, you are still cute as a button. We met you one night at an OU/OSU baseball game at the old Drillers Stadium. I took a picture of you and my wife, Rhonda. We have moved to San Antonio and have been down here for a year and a half. We very much miss your weather reports. We always watched you. We hope you are doing well. Take care and if possible, keep in touch. Steve and Rhonda
Thank you so much for your kind note! Hope all is great in San Antonio! I promise to keep in touch right here:)
This reminds me of one of my favorite verses, ” Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” Isaiah 40:29 (NIV)
Every once in awhile, I like to go outside very, very early in the morning and stare at the stars…. It’s mesmerizing and your blog reminded me to do it more often!!
I think it’s sad when everything goes dark. I try to leave a bit of winter themed stuff up for a bit longer.