When Christmas plans aren't perfect....

There's a holiday commercial out right now that strikes me every time:

The commercial has a double message: that virtually everything a person could need for the Christmas holiday can be found at Big Lots, and that the matron of the family is responsible for the success of the Christmas holiday. The mom here has a perfectly decorated house, perfectly selected gifs, a manicured image...all of the things we worry about.

It is the season of the year when there are hundreds of things to worry about and attempt to perfect. We want to make sure that our kids have the perfect Christmas experience, enough gifts to make them happy and filled with gratitude but not so much that they are spoiled. We hope they make it to enough church events to remember the true meaning of Christmas. Our homes need to be decorated and cleaned, especially if guests are coming through, and/or travel plans need to be carefully crafted.

The stress isn't just familial. Being on church staff during the month of December means extra hours, work, and anxiety. December always brings extra visitors, which means this might be our one chance to tell the good news of Jesus Christ. We try to walk this line between the story of Jesus' birth and the celebration of American culture at Christmastime. It is difficult.

As a perfectionist, this is the time of year when I go into crazy-town mode. I want every event to be filled with Christmas joy and perfectly executed. I want each person to leave Unity feeling uplifted and invigorated, knowing that Jesus wasn't just born on Christmas but is alive each day within us. 

Inevitably, in my time working in churches when I have gotten over-controlling or extra perfectionist about particular events, I come down with some illness which knocks me out of commission and ultimately humbles me. Sunday afternoon I came home feeling not great, and by 3:00 I was completely out of commission with a 101 degree fever, body aches, and lungs that felt like the desert. I missed caroling, which I had carefully planned; I spent a couple of days laying on the couch, missing out on the literal tons of work I need to do. While I would never say that God made me sick, I can certainly say that I was reminded this week that whether I put in 10 hours or 100 hours into planning Christmas Eve worship or the Christmas Party or any such event, the event will happen anyway. And chances are people's experience of the event aren't necessarily intertwined with my ability to make it perfect. In fact, some of the things that happen so imperfectly end up being most important. Contrary to the Big Lots commercial, Christmas is very capable of coming without me, and in fact often does a better job at presenting itself when I am not trying to make it Lindsay-mas.

Think about Jesus' birth...

So let's think about the story of Jesus' birth. We have Mary and Joseph who are engaged to be married. They are young and afraid; suddenly Mary ends up being pregnant, something that was not socially acceptable. We note that this is so startling that Joseph even tries to get out of it (Matthew 1). Not exactly how we'd expect the Messiah to enter the world. Not a perfect entrance.

Then we get to the actual birth of Jesus, which happens in Bethlehem, not their home town of Nazareth. They travel to Bethlehem for census. And not only that, but Mary gives birth to Jesus in an unhygienic, uncomfortable stable surrounded by barn animals. I mean, this was messy and painful, and it could have ended really badly, considering the challenges women and children faced in the child-bearing process at the time. When we really think about what the birth of Jesus must have been like, it is not glamorous, not glittery, nothing to sing about. It's not what we would have planned or expected.

And so we see that the birth Jesus did not exactly go how most people expected it to go. Yes, the angels and the wise men show up later and give some glamour to the occasion, but it starts out humble, challenging, and strikingly imperfect.

Joy in the imperfection...

And that is just the sticking point for me: this ridiculously imperfect, humble event, which includes doubt, questions of fidelity within a relationship, a lonely, messy, painful birth process in the outdoors...this is how God chooses to enter the world.

As a helpless baby.
Through risky birth.
Through controversial conception.

If God didn't need the first Christmas to be glamorous or perfect, then our Christmas doesn't need ours to be either. For me, letting go of perfection is a challenge I have not yet figured out exactly how to do, other than to ask for forgiveness every time I cling to perfection when I should not. It is difficult to say to myself that the perfect Christmas gifts, the perfect Christmas decorations, the immaculate Christmas cookies, and the exquisite Christmas feast are all side notes, are all trivial, because I thrive on the challenge of making a perfect day {maybe it's the Clark Griswold in me, who knows}. So as Christmastime closes in, I am trying to focus on letting go of the pressure to get my Christmas shopping done and my special treats baked and packaged. Even if I don't get my act together, Christmas will come, and the memories it makes will be surrounded by love, by the Holy Spirit in our midst, and by the joy of being around friends and family.

So I challenge us as we get into crunch time before Christmas to seek the joy that can only be found when we give up our perfect plans and give into the plans God has for our Christmas and our time with our families. I challenge us to let go of the pressure of perfection and pursue the joy of God's imperfect entrance into the world.