Christmas comes with high expectations of perfection; happy, smiling families exchanging expertly wrapped gifts, around a perfectly decorated Christmas tree, before tucking in to a delicious and perfectly cooked roast dinner - just as we see it portrayed in films. We spare no effort, time and often money to try and make our celebration perfect.
The problem is real life is rarely like the picture postcard portrayal. The Christmas tree just won’t stand up properly, the Christmas cake is burnt at the edges, and the children end up fighting. In short, things go wrong and the perfect Christmas we wanted seems to collapse around us. We just don’t seem to manage it, no matter how hard we try – Does this sound familiar?
The reality is that we cannot try to make Christmas perfect with our own efforts.
As beautiful as your Christmas cake decorations are, or how tastefully you have wrapped your presents with ribbons and rosettes, all of this does not define Christmas and won’t bring the joy we are looking for, simply by trying to create it all to be perfect.
There is one thing that is perfect in Christmas and we need to focus on that. The joy of Christmas is remembering the importance of it being a celebration of the birth of Christ.
Don’t fret if the roast potatoes are a bit imperfect, or the pigs in blankets rather overcooked and the presents you received weren’t what you were hoping for. In the midst of this just remember how loved you are, that God valued you enough to be born on earth so that we could come to know him and experience his love
May you know the hope and peace of the Christchild this year in your imperfect Christmas.