This Christmas has just been a mess. An all out mess. And not in the good way.
Evan is sick, and the doctor has no answer for us other than "a virus." But that nasty virus has kept us home many days when we were supposed to be doing other fun Christmasy things. Evan missed a field trip to have his picture made with Santa and missed his school Christmas program. However, the doctor had warned us not to let him to back to school.
Before he got sick, it seemed as if we had an event every single night. You know all those dots on the calendar on your phone? I had a dot for every day. The only day that wound up with no dot was when the Pineville Christmas Parade got moved to another night because of rain. That day Stewart and I wound up repainting our bedroom and moving in our brand new furniture that we had just bought with some money we had saved up. (Merry Christmas to us! New carpet is coming the day after Christmas. Another mess is on its way. But the end result will be awesome!) Home repairs tend to cause big messes.
Stewart has been extra busy with some unexpected funerals thrown into the mix of an already busy season. Those families now have a mess where there once was to be a Christmas. And the other night, Stewart ruined 4 batches of his famous peanut brittle. Yes, you heard me right. Four. It was not good. Then the next day he texted me and said his cell phone literally fell apart in his hands. If you have ever had to get a new cell phone, you know what a big mess that is!
And to top it all off, on the last day before Christmas vacation, Zach got hit in the face with a ball and broke his glasses. We were assured they could be fixed, but after careful examination by Daddy, they cannot. So guess who's going to have to shell out the big bucks for new glasses 3 days before Christmas? Yep. That would be us.
I blame the Hallmark Channel for this. (Although I love it.) You see, they have us all believing that Christmas is supposed to be perfect. Clean. Full of happy surprises that turn into the best thing that ever happened in your life. Perfectly decorated houses with lights everywhere. Immaculately dressed people. Impishly angelic children. White Christmas Eves. But that's not how Christmas has ever been in my life. Yes, I have had some really great Christmases. However, none of them have ever been up to the level of a television movie.
There was nothing about the first Christmas that was totally perfect either. It involved an ill-timed trip, a very, very expectant mother riding on a donkey, a crude stable, dirty hay, animals that were certainly not freshly washed, and a birth that had not a single medical professional present. There was also a young girl who ended up pregnant before she was married to her betrothed. Her husband had had doubts about the whole situation until an angel appeared to him to calm his fears. (See Matthew 1.) There was nothing Hallmark worthy about the first Christmas. The only thing that was perfect that night was the baby. Now He was perfect! And not just because He was a new baby. He was God in flesh. The Wonderful Counselor. The Mighty God. The Everlasting Father. The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6) He had left His glory and put on flesh so He could be one of us. And by being one of us, He was able to sympathize with us. He got in the middle of our messes with us, so to speak. Yet He remained perfect. And in His perfection, years later He would die on a cross for us to save us from our sin-mess.
You see, that first Christmas had to be messy and humble so He could be fully human. Yet when the angels awoke some stinky shepherds in a nearby field, they told them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." (Luke 2:10-11) The Savior, the Messiah, the Lord had been born in the middle of a messy world! “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:14)
Wherever this Christmas finds you - whether it be in the perfect or in the messy - you can be assured that Jesus is right there with you. He understands messy. And He doesn't mind it. He loves you no matter the mess. After all, His first Christmas was messy, too!
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:15)
Evan is sick, and the doctor has no answer for us other than "a virus." But that nasty virus has kept us home many days when we were supposed to be doing other fun Christmasy things. Evan missed a field trip to have his picture made with Santa and missed his school Christmas program. However, the doctor had warned us not to let him to back to school.
Before he got sick, it seemed as if we had an event every single night. You know all those dots on the calendar on your phone? I had a dot for every day. The only day that wound up with no dot was when the Pineville Christmas Parade got moved to another night because of rain. That day Stewart and I wound up repainting our bedroom and moving in our brand new furniture that we had just bought with some money we had saved up. (Merry Christmas to us! New carpet is coming the day after Christmas. Another mess is on its way. But the end result will be awesome!) Home repairs tend to cause big messes.
Stewart has been extra busy with some unexpected funerals thrown into the mix of an already busy season. Those families now have a mess where there once was to be a Christmas. And the other night, Stewart ruined 4 batches of his famous peanut brittle. Yes, you heard me right. Four. It was not good. Then the next day he texted me and said his cell phone literally fell apart in his hands. If you have ever had to get a new cell phone, you know what a big mess that is!
And to top it all off, on the last day before Christmas vacation, Zach got hit in the face with a ball and broke his glasses. We were assured they could be fixed, but after careful examination by Daddy, they cannot. So guess who's going to have to shell out the big bucks for new glasses 3 days before Christmas? Yep. That would be us.
I blame the Hallmark Channel for this. (Although I love it.) You see, they have us all believing that Christmas is supposed to be perfect. Clean. Full of happy surprises that turn into the best thing that ever happened in your life. Perfectly decorated houses with lights everywhere. Immaculately dressed people. Impishly angelic children. White Christmas Eves. But that's not how Christmas has ever been in my life. Yes, I have had some really great Christmases. However, none of them have ever been up to the level of a television movie.
There was nothing about the first Christmas that was totally perfect either. It involved an ill-timed trip, a very, very expectant mother riding on a donkey, a crude stable, dirty hay, animals that were certainly not freshly washed, and a birth that had not a single medical professional present. There was also a young girl who ended up pregnant before she was married to her betrothed. Her husband had had doubts about the whole situation until an angel appeared to him to calm his fears. (See Matthew 1.) There was nothing Hallmark worthy about the first Christmas. The only thing that was perfect that night was the baby. Now He was perfect! And not just because He was a new baby. He was God in flesh. The Wonderful Counselor. The Mighty God. The Everlasting Father. The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6) He had left His glory and put on flesh so He could be one of us. And by being one of us, He was able to sympathize with us. He got in the middle of our messes with us, so to speak. Yet He remained perfect. And in His perfection, years later He would die on a cross for us to save us from our sin-mess.
You see, that first Christmas had to be messy and humble so He could be fully human. Yet when the angels awoke some stinky shepherds in a nearby field, they told them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." (Luke 2:10-11) The Savior, the Messiah, the Lord had been born in the middle of a messy world! “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:14)
Wherever this Christmas finds you - whether it be in the perfect or in the messy - you can be assured that Jesus is right there with you. He understands messy. And He doesn't mind it. He loves you no matter the mess. After all, His first Christmas was messy, too!
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:15)
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