Friends, I just want an ordinary Christmas.
I’ve been wrapping gifts, curling ribbons, putting up lights and the tree, hanging ornaments and baking cookies for years. First, as my mother’s helper and now as a Mom myself, I’ve burned the midnight oil to try and create the perfect Christmas for my family for what feels like a long time now.
I mean, isn’t that what we all want? The perfect Christmas?
Not just an okay one. Not just another day except we get to open gifts and take the day off work. But a spectacular day. One that will remain in our child’s memories long after the season ends.
Christmas is a magical time. There is just a feeling in the air of wonder and goodwill mixed in with color and twinkling lights. Wonder rains down upon us and we drink it in with our hot chocolate and expensive coffees. It is a wonderful time and that’s why I don’t want to shoot for spectacular this year. I want quiet, ordinary, and cozy.
I want more days staying home watching Christmas movies and drinking hot chocolate. I want less days fighting shoppers for clothes that I’m not sure my gift recipients will even wear. I want more days sitting by the tree with only the strands of Christmas lights on, talking and laughing with my family. I want to use my credit card less and laugh more.
Today I was reminded that the first Christmas wasn’t perfect: there were no rooms at the inn for Mary and Joseph, Jesus was born in a stable. There wasn’t a fancy birth plan or hospital. There wasn’t a perfect setting. Jesus was born quietly in the night, no posed Instagram shot taken by His parents to show all their friends. There was no time for perfection and yet…God still showed up.
It’s not our perfection that brings God to us. It’s not having a beautifully decorated tree, or the perfect gifts picked out for our kids. It’s not Pinterest worthy baked goods, decor, or crafts.
It’s our extreme ordinariness that calls to our Savior. It’s us. Us- not doing anything at all. Not trying to stage the perfect shot, or pose in the best lighting. He knows even our attempts at perfection are lacking and you know what? He’s actually okay with that.
Friends, we don’t have to stress ourselves out trying to create the perfect Christmas, spending too much money and feeling overwhelmed by the whole process. God doesn’t need perfection to show up.
Maybe this year it’s time to take a moment to rest in the midst of all of the busyness. Maybe that means scaling back some of your grand plans in favor of quieter moments. Maybe it means letting go of expectations and embracing each day for what it is.
Fellow Mamas, I want to remind you that Christmas is for you, too. You deserve cozy feelings and not stressed out ones. Ordinary doesn’t have to mean routine or boring. It just means that you won’t spend, what could be a sweet time, stressing and striving to create perfection for others. God will still be there. Don’t allow the stress of the season to overwhelm the sweetness of the perfectly ordinary, and beautiful, season that can be yours!