The day after Christmas is a strange kind of quiet.
The gifts have been opened. The meals are finished. The pictures have been posted. The decorations still glow, but the noise has faded. And in that quiet, we are left with a simple question. Who are we becoming now that the celebration is over?
This is where formation happens. Not on the holidays, but after them. Not in big moments, but in ordinary ones. Between Sundays.
There is a moment in the story of Jesus that often gets overlooked. On the night when He knew everything was about to unravel, He did not give a long speech. He did not protect His image. He picked up a towel. He knelt. He washed feet. He served.
The towel matters because it tells us what leadership and faith really look like when no one is clapping. The towel is not about status. It is about posture. It is the willingness to step into someone else’s need without needing credit. It is choosing love that looks like service, even when you are tired, misunderstood, or on your way to suffering.
The towel is not a one time act. It is a way of life. And the truth is, you cannot walk the way of the towel if you are still protecting your image. You cannot serve freely if you are constantly worried about how you are seen. Formation happens when ego steps aside and love steps forward.
Earlier this year, my oldest daughter, who is fifteen, volunteered with some classmates at Sunshine Place in Sun Prairie. It was not a requirement. It was not a photo opportunity. It was simply a decision to help.
Later, when her school assigned a project, her first instinct was not to build something for herself. It was to organize a gift drive so others could be cared for. Watching her, I was reminded that the way of the towel is learned long before it is explained. It is caught through example. It is practiced through repetition. It is formed through small acts of love done consistently.
That moment took me back to Jesus again. Even knowing what was coming, He still chose to serve. Even facing betrayal, He still knelt. Even at the end, He picked up the towel.
That tells us something important. God cares more about who we are becoming than how far we are climbing. Titles fade. Platforms shift. But formation lasts.
Between Sundays, faith is not measured by what we profess. It is revealed by what we practice. Who we notice. Where we step in. How we respond when love requires effort.
The towel shows up everywhere. At home when patience is thin. At work when credit is scarce. In leadership when stepping back helps someone else grow. In moments when you see a need and choose not to walk past it.
You do not need a title to live this way. You just need eyes to see where love is needed and the humility to step in.
As this year comes to a close, the invitation is simple. Pick up the towel again. Let formation shape you more than ambition. Let service become your posture, not your performance.
Because the way of the towel is still the way forward.
Keep The Faith (K.T.F.)
