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The Anti-January Madness Day

As I write this it's snowing out my window and the world is looking oh-so tranquil! I was going to chat a bit about how I take one day each January to step out of the frenzy and ponder and pray. Then I remembered I wrote all about it in the new Sisterchicks Devotional, Take Flight! So, here's the excerpt from Take Flight!. I pray it brings much hope to all of you as this new year begins.

Happy Fresh Starts to one and all! When a woman knows she is loved, she can do anything.

Robin

January Madness
FROM ROBIN’S NEST

Don’t worry. Sometimes the ‘January Madness’ lasts a little longer than usual.
—Penny, Sisterchicks on the Loose!

In recognition of the “January Madness” that does indeed come upon me every year, I have instituted a traditional “Anti-January-Madness” day during which I find my place. The procedure for this after-holiday special starts when I rise early, light a candle, make a pot of strong black tea, and set up camp in my favorite snuggle chair by the front window.

For hours I pour out my heart to God, writing page after page in a spiral-bound notebook. I consider a handful of difficult, deep thoughts that my soul has turned away during the frenetic schedule of the preceding months. I stare out the window and tell the trees I feel just like them—stripped to the soul, with feeble arms upraised, waiting for spring to come again and to cover me with the greenness of life and maybe a few pink frillies.

I love this January solitude, this day of anti-madness. I am empty, and the beautiful thing is, I know it! All I can do is sit there, rooted to the chair, fully dependent on Creator God for every leaf of life, every breath, every word. From this place of emptiness and expectation I wait, with my pot of tea, my pen and paper, and my ready heart.

Usually I start by writing out a long prayer. In this flowing conversation, dotted with lots of “wows!” and “thank-you-thank-you-thank-yous!” I list significant moments from the past year. I tell God all over again how I think He is amazing and extravagant and patient. Sometimes I get kind of mushy, trying to find a way to tell Him how much I love Him. I also reflect on the painful moments and bow my spirit, ready to listen. Then I ask my Lord, “What’s next?”

Sometimes I go back and read the journal pages from the prior year’s day of Anti-January Madness. Every time I do, I am amazed at all that happened in one short year. I am even more amazed at how many catastrophes did not happen. I read lists of things I worried about and smile when I realize how few of those events happened. God provided. God healed. God blessed. God was there every single moment of that previous year. I can trust Him to be with me in the year ahead.

This past January as I logged a summary of the prior year, I realized it had been a year of double blessings. Many of the same gifts were given to me twice in experiences and people. I kept wondering why. Why so much goodness from You last year, Lord?

Silence. No explanation. No indication of what was expected of me in return for all the blessings. I was raised on the biblical premise that the one to whom much is given, much is required. So what was required of me?
My only lingering thought was, Double portion, double portion. Who was the woman in Scripture who received the double portion? It was Hannah. Every year she went with her husband to worship at Shiloh. First Samuel says, “But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her” (1 Samuel 1:5, NIV).

My heart did a little flutter when I read those words “because he loved her.” Could it be that Hannah had received the double portion simply because she was loved—not because of anything she had done or not done? Is it that easy with God sometimes? Does He just bless us because He loves us?
I sat very still before the Lord and asked if that was it. Did You bless me with a double portion last year just because You love me?

The resounding echo in my spirit and in His Word was clearly yes! That was it. He loves us because He loves us. It is, sometimes, just that simple.
My day of contemplation ended differently than it had in years past. True, I scrawled lists of goals and anticipations for the coming year and recklessly spilled my heart onto the paper. (I also spilled a bit of tea on my snuggle chair!) But I didn’t resurface with the usual heady sense of duty and a diagram of all the things I would accomplish for the King and for His kingdom in the coming year.

Instead, I took one steady step out of the cloud of January Madness and welcomed the year ahead feeling vibrantly alive. My spirit sprouted with the tender pinkness of anticipation for all that lay ahead in the new year.

With certainty I saw that when a woman knows she’s loved, she can do anything. She can wait patiently for a slow promise to be fulfilled. She can withstand an impending storm. Such a woman does not merely grow older; she grows stronger in her sweet and abiding affection for the One who loves her.