Intentional Living

A Gloriously Imperfect Christmas

It’s early in the morning as I write this post, reflecting on Christmas 2020. My house is quiet. The lights on the tree give a soft glow to the room. A cup of tea steams at my side, waiting to be sipped. A beautiful picture, right? Here is what you don’t see in that description.

Lights. The bottom lights of my tree went out. Yep, just a few days after we decorated the lights went kaput. I didn’t have the time or energy to fix them. Besides, you can only really tell during the day, or so I tell myself!

My missing tree lights.

Baking. The eve of Christmas Eve found me frantically trying to bake the two types of cookies my family asked for this year. I’m not a neat baker, so my kitchen looked like a flour and dishes explosion took place. The good news is that the 12 dozen cookies I made tasted as good as ever, even if one batch looked a little odd in my haste to get them made (not pictured in an attempt to keep my pride intact).

My little cookie factory on the eve of Christmas eve.

Cleaning. As you can imagine, in the midst of last minute baking, kids returning home, and other family events, cleaning took a back seat. More importantly, I don’t think I have swept in four or five days. Normally, this might not be a major issue, but my sweet black lab Blue, sheds like all labs do. I have enough lab hair in my house right now to stuff a pillow or two! That combined with my grandpuppy Winston coming home and his innate skill at finding garbage and dragging it around, the floor is a literal land mine of debris and dog hair.

Relationships. I have a blended family. My husband and I married when my children were 12 and 9. As you can imagine, Christmas has always looked a little different for us. I haven’t spent Christmas day with my kids since they were young, as they spend that day with their dad’s family. Even when we are together, my family has a wide range of personalities and interests. My husband is a concrete contractor who loves to hunt and fish. My daughter is a music teacher who loves musicals, movies, and charcuterie. My son is an auto-body mechanic who farms in his spare time. I’m a book nerd who loves them all. I wouldn’t trade our unique blend of crazy for anything in the world.

My Christmas Takeaway. I thank the Lord for this perfectly, imperfect Christmas, for my gloriously imperfect life. Its imperfection reminds me just how much I and my family need the gift of Jesus’s birth. As for the imperfection of my Christmas, there is only one “light” that we need-Jesus. My family knows I love them even if I hadn’t gotten the baking done. A little dog hair and dirt never hurt anyone. Instead of Christmas cards, I’ll send notes throughout the year. And, the most important relationship I have is the one I nurture with Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. When I nurture that relationship, the imperfection of my earthly relationships, the trials and struggles, all seem a bit easier, a bit deeper, a bit lovelier.

Praising God with each of you this year, and praying that your imperfect Christmas’s brought you a little closer to heaven’s glory!

We would love to hear your imperfect Christmas stories! Please share in the comments or send us an email!

Contributed by Liz Hunt

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