Photo by Greyson Joralemon on Unsplash

Are you ready? Has everything been prepared perfectly? Did you have a great Advent?

The answer is likely no. And that often leaves us frustrated, impatient, discontent and disappointed. 

I find that at this time of year, we have such high expectations of ourselves and others. The tree needs to be decorated beautifully, the turkey needs to be cooked just right, and Aunt Judy better like the gift I bought her. This leads to anxiety and pressure to perform and do all the right things during a sacred time and season. 

In fact, it robs us of our joy and steals our peace. 

The reality is that these expectations we establish are very often unrealistic and very rarely met. Sadly, this high bar we set leads to disappointment in others and, worse, disappointment in ourselves. 

As many gather with their families and loved ones at Christmas, this time of year also brings up grief for many people. We mourn the loss of the way things used to be, of loved ones that have been lost, and of plans that haven’t been met. 

And our Christmas isn’t perfect. But the good news is, the first Christmas wasn’t perfect either. 

“And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7).

So, your Christmas isn’t perfect? Good.

Jesus did not enter into perfection. He entered into our humanity with humility. 

And Jesus desires to enter into the spaces and places in our lives that are poor and lowly. 

He doesn’t come to enter into how we would like our life to be, or the ideal we have set up for ourselves. Jesus longs to enter our broken families, our grief and our addictions in order to bring light and life. 

He comes to enter into our lives as we currently are. But He can’t if we mask, hide and pretend that our problems don’t exist. 

So this Christmas, let’s meet the real Jesus. Jesus who is born in a manger and who longs to enter into our messiness. This is Jesus who saves, redeems, heals and restores. 

But He can only do that if we are honest and if we show Him our true and imperfect selves.  

In fact, our joy isn’t found in our perfection. Joy is found in the birth of our Saviour. 

I recently came across a great video by Ascension Presents that I believe encapsulates this theme so well. I hope you have the opportunity to take a few minutes to listen to it.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!

Thank you for reading my written work this past year. I hope these articles have inspired, challenged and blessed you. 

Patrick is a beloved son of the Father who desires to use his gifts to build up the Kingdom of God. You can read more of his writing on his blog.