Let's welcome Little Lu-Lu to the Fairy Godkid family! One day she will be old enough to read!
So Christmas is coming! The most wonderful time of the year! It's no secret that I LOVE Christmas. Like, LOVE, LOVE Christmas. I know most of you do too! But what about those years when Advent doesn't seem very Adventy. And when Christmas seems to be coming so fast and you just aren't ready yet! And what about those years you just want to hit pause, back up, rewind, and get a do-over?
Godkids, let me tell you something. I think it is for THOSE years that Jesus especially comes.
This Advent started out great. We were READY! I even remembered to buy brand new Advent Candles the week before Advent started! (This is unheard of!) I knew it meant that this would be a stellar Advent! The Jesse tree ornaments were organized the day before Advent began, we had a routine for Bible time, traveling through Salvation history, and the Christmas Novena. We were going to OWN this Advent and have the best Christmas Prep EVER! (Which, of course meant that we'd have the best Christmas to date!)
Then. Chickenpox. And more Chickenpox. Then recurrent Chickenpox. Then I got Chickenpox. Then there was an emergency appendectomy. Then more chickenpox. And Christmas is 4 days away.
And yet.
And yet, Jesus Comes.
Christmas is still coming.
Our Bible time has been mediocre at best. The Jesse Tree is getting filled in fits and starts. The Advent candles still get lit (though contagious kids are not allowed to blow them out). The first two weeks of this short Advent were spent with at least half the members of this family not feeling well, and with me feeling rather poorly (OK, fine, like I had the flu).
We won't all be going to the Midnight Mass now, I will most likely be attending a Christmas Mass by myself, not breathing on anyone, just in case, as once again the elusive Christmas Vigil slips through my grasp.
I am not sure when I will get to the other preparations that need to still happen in order for us to be ready for Santa to come down our chimney. We are alerting the guests who had already accepted our Christmas Day invitations for dinner that they will be entering a Chickenpox zone. I may need to make a few more side dishes and probably a big ol' pot of soup. Christmas cookies just aren't happening this year.
And yet.
And yet, He comes.
And its OK.
Because Jesus didn't come for the perfect Christmas. He is the entire reason for Christmas. HE makes it perfect. And just like over 2000 years ago, He comes quietly and peacefully into a crazy, break-neck world.
Maybe this Christmas isn't shaping up to be what you had hoped. Maybe things feel out of control. Maybe your family is struggling. Maybe you're going through something personal or difficult. Maybe Advent feels like a bust and you wish you were more joyful about Jesus' upcoming birthday. Maybe you wish this Advent and Christmas were different.
And yet.
And yet, He is coming. Jesus doesn't wait for us to be ready. We never will be. Not really. He knows how much we need Him. Now. In the middle of the chaos and the crazy. Sickness, uncertainty, insecurity. We need Him. So He comes.
This Advent, I want to give you permission, Fairy Godkids, to let go of your idea of what a perfect Advent or a perfect Christmas looks like. Let go of what you decided would make for the best holiday and instead, be still in the truth that Jesus is coming. For you. For us. And THAT is what makes it perfect. That is what makes it Christmas. If Advent is a time to recall and contemplate our need for Christ, our need for a Savior, then perhaps it is the crazy, unplanned, chaotic Advents that remind us best of all how very much we need a Savior bigger than us. Bigger than all our problems, bigger than all our sickness, all our worries. A Savior who humbled Himself to become one of us.
Christmas is coming, dear Godchildren. How very blessed we are!
Your Fairy God Mother wishes you a very Merry, Happy, Holy Christmas!
