I've hung our Christmas quilt and it partly covers some of the ongoing mess from our renovations (which are due to recommence January 7). Christmas this year will be celebrated amongst the mess that is our home right now.
I will try and rearrange boxes so that Son#5 can sleep in his room despite it having no power or lights and no hanging space. In truth, I don't even know where he'll plonk his bag. At the moment there is only a narrow gap between the bed and mountain of stored boxes.
In anticipation of the renewed renovations I cleared one shelf on our mantlepiece and decorated it with our Nativity Scene and other treasures. Usually I'm reluctant to take down family photos and bits and bobs but this year, since they need to be packed away soon anyway, it gave me an opportunity to try my hand at decorating.
These aren't the only messes. There's the mess of our busy working lives as we stress about trying to get everything done. And the mess of cleaning the house from top to bottom (and DH has reminded me that there's not much point cleaning something that is going to be removed or destroyed in a few short weeks anyway - I'll try to remember that but the windows will be an exception). There's the mess of baking and preparing favourite foods for the family. And the mess of gifts: both wrapping and unwrapping. For some, there's the mess of broken relationships or loneliness. And perhaps the mess of over-extended credit cards or real poverty.
And this is just on the outside. Inside there is the mess of our selfishness, our resentment, our envy, our disappointed expectations, our unforgiving spirit, our pride, and even our gluttony. In short, the mess of our sin.
Yes, Christmas is messy. But this isn't new to our Saviour who was born into a mess. A mother who was unmarried at the time when she learnt about her impending pregnancy. A long and dusty journey. A city in religious and political upheaval. A lack of accommodation. A stable for shelter and a bed for a manger. And animals and shepherds for onlookers.
Definitely messy. But within that mess - at the very centre of that God-ordained mess - was our Messiah.
This Christmas, when we look around at our own mess let's not forget that God understands our mess. The mess of our lives and the mess of our sin.
This Christmas, look for Him in the mess.
