As moms we picture a perfect Christmas. Perfect tree, perfect decor, perfect gifts, perfect pictures, perfect weather, perfect food, etc. We want it to be perfect not for us, but for our kids and family. We want it to be memorable and fun. But what happens when it's not so perfect? What if the tree is smaller than what we wanted because of the budget? What if the gifts are not what the kids want, but what they need? What if the food is burnt and the ginger bread man is missing a head? What if the pictures are blurry and someone is always crying? What if there was a major error on the family Christmas cards you ordered like this one?
Or what if you've lost someone and this is the first year you are celebrating Christmas without them.
Something that I was reminded of last night as I was thinking about all the "imperfect" stuff that has already happened was this:
Nothing about the night Jesus was born was perfect, especially for a king. There were no available rooms for Mary to stay and give birth in. I don't know about your birth experiences but I had a beautiful hospital for all 3 of my kids. They gave me lavender and milk baths to help ease the pain and they gave me the most comfortable pillows. Mary on the other hand probably didn't have anything she wanted. A mom's worst nightmare I believe!
They ended up on a stable which looks good now on our nativity sets, but if any of you have ever been in a stable they definitely don't have the clean sanitize hospital smell. Not the smell you probably want to be welcomed with as a newborn.
This was not what Joseph had wanted for his beloved wife. Imagine all that Joseph had to go through that night. A lot of our husbands were in the "I'm going to faint" status in the labor room with us but imagine Joseph. He was trying to find a room, found one in a stable, had to find the cleanest spot and help his wife give birth to their firstborn son. Crazy!!!! Not perfect.
Though all those things were crazy and imperfect one thing is for sure, our savior Jesus Christ would not want it any other way. Somehow the imperfect was perfect and it was all just the beginning.He wanted it imperfect just like that because he is the master of making the imperfect to perfect.
So as we experience more "imperfect" events and situations this Christmas let's remind ourselves and teach our kids.....
1) To be thankful. Thankful for what we do have and that we do get to celebrate no matter what it looks like or tastes like. Something that we've done before is having each family member take a turn to think and share about a highlight for that year and why. This helps remind us that even if this month is not as perfect as expected, the whole year was something to be thankful for.
2) To be generous because Jesus was generous to the extent of giving up his own life for us. Money isn't the only way we could show generosity. You could bake an extra casserole dish to give to a neighbor or you could be generous with time by offering to babysit for a couple hours so another mom could take a nap or do her grocery shopping peacefully. Something that we do as a family especially during Christmas time is that we pray and ask God for a specific person we could individually bless. This way we are not forcing our kids to give up toys but they do it out of their own obedience to God. We pick a day and we go to each of the people we felt God wanted us to bless and we do it as a family.
3) To celebrate each other. The best gift we get each year is the gift of each other. We could each take turns praying for each other out loud and even the kids could participate.
Enjoy your imperfect Christmas and have a happy new year!
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