WELCOME TO 2024

January Blues or Hope beyond Christmas ? 

A dying Christmas tree, surrounded by pine needles on the floor, wrapping paper, and boxes clogging up the recycling, signals the end of the holiday season and the realization that Christmas is over. In my early 20s, I worked in retail. Even in sunny South Africa, January was the darkest month. After Christmas, people were in debt, and very few visited the art shop where I worked.

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The anticipation of Christmas day, especially for children, is exciting. Advent calendars countdown the days, and in our home, my son constantly asks, 'Alexa, how many days until Christmas?' However, once Christmas is gone, the January blues set in. The darkness outside can be depressing, bringing us back to reality—it's time to grow up.

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Nevertheless, there's something encouraging in what Christians believe; it makes you feel like a child waiting for Christmas again. Christmas is wonderful, but it's only a small glimpse of what Christians around the world are anticipating—a day when 'There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain' (Rev 21:4).

A world without pain, brokenness, hurt, and even death may seem strange to us, but it's what we long for. It sounds too good to be true, but it is. Here's the thing: there are no January blues; it doesn't end. It does go on 'forever and ever' (Rev 22:5).

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Scott Seivewright

Pastor, BCC