Maybe you’re missing family. Maybe your chronic illness is making a mess of things. Maybe you’re snowed in. Maybe you don’t have a hickory honey ham. Maybe you moved to a new place, and your usual traditions are disrupted. Maybe you had a recent break-up or friendship fallout. Maybe you are feeling burnt out and exhausted. I don’t know what it is. But somehow, you find yourself in a messed up Christmas.
We put a lot of hype into Christmas, but as you grow up there comes a year when your perfect childhood Christmas dreams aren’t quite so perfect. The hype lets you down and you’re left feeling disappointed and disoriented. There are a lot of ways Christmas can get “messed up” or be “not right.”
But the first Christmas was messed up too. And it was beautiful because of it.
From Mary’s point of view, she wasn’t supposed to get pregnant out of wedlock. Joseph wasn’t supposed to marry a girl who — to all appearances — cheated on him. Mary wasn’t supposed to give birth to her first child without family or her mother around to help and support her. She wasn’t supposed to travel miles and miles on the back of a donkey so close to her due date. She wasn’t supposed to give birth in a stable. It was all messed up.
Yet what felt messed up to Mary and Joseph was just what it was supposed to be to God. Through all the “mess-ups”, prophecies were fulfilled and people were blessed and Jesus took on humanity and humility.
The whole point of Christmas is that this world is pretty messed up. Sin wrecked everything, and Jesus came as a baby to save us from our sins. He came to sacrifice Himself for us so that we could be forgiven. So that we could be free from this messed up world and spend eternity in Heaven with Him.
Your Christmas might be pretty messed up right now. And I’m sorry. That sucks. But as you endure a messed up Christmas, remember the first Christmas and how messed up it was, and remember that Jesus came to save you from the pain and suffering. Keep your eyes on Heaven and remember that we are promised no more death, mourning, crying, or pain.
A messed up Christmas can still be beautiful. It is still part of God’s plan and for your good. When Mary was screaming in pain from childbirth, it sure didn’t feel good. When people were accusing her of adultery that she didn’t commit, I imagine there was shame and anger and fear. But the Bible tells us many times how blessed she was and how she cherished those moments of her messed up Christmas.
So this week, I want to challenge you to cherish your messed up Christmas. It’s okay to feel hurt and grief and even anger. But don’t forget to cherish the beauty of it too.
Merry Christmas,
Sara
P.S. My friend Bella recently published a book that goes with this topic really well called A Different Kind of Beautiful. I had the privilege of beta reading it, and it was so healing to me.
