Chaos at Christmastime
My kids are old enough now to have some set expectations at Christmastime. We cut down our own tree; they each get an allowance to buy gifts for each other; we take a family picture for Christmas cards; and probably their favorite tradition is what happens on Christmas Eve...we enjoy a massive charcuterie board by candlelight with tasty beverages. We usually come home from our Christmas Eve service, often weary but inspired by what God had done, and enter into a time of slow and meaningful joy.
These traditions have become sacred for our family – ways that we worship and celebrate our hope in Jesus. It’s also an opportunity celebrate the gift of family that he’s given us.
As we’ve accepted God’s call to move to Portland and currently find ourselves searching for a home, life has felt more chaotic than usual. We didn’t cut down a tree this year. We are behind on the gift shopping and Christmas cards. BUT you can be sure we haven’t forgot about that charcuterie board.
Sometimes, we can enter Christmastime with very rigid expectations. Our traditions can be set in stone, and any changes can be met with huge disappointment. If we can’t provide for our kids or grandkids the way we think we should, we can feel like failures.
It would do us all good to remember the CHAOS of that first Christmas. If Mary had a birth plan, it certainly was shot to pieces. You can bet she didn’t anticipate giving birth in an open-air barn and laying her newborn baby in a food trough.
But in what seemed like chaos, God’s glory shone. Angels announced the arrival of the newborn King to a group of low-level shepherds, who went and beheld the child in amazement. They left proclaiming his arrival and praising God. And I love that Luke includes the line, “And Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19)
Even when life feels chaotic, we can trust God is at work in the middle of it. Whatever “chaos” looks like in your world, if you are a Christ follower, you can count on the fact that God is doing something glorious. Spiritual growth is hard. Serving is hard. Life itself is hard.
When life feels chaotic and I feel stretched beyond my capacity, I’m often comforted by Paul’s words in Philippians 1:6 (NIV), “I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
God is always at work in us, even in the chaos. God’s eye is on you, and his hand is over you. You can trust that even through difficult seasons, God will carry you and use every hardship for His glory.
May you catch a greater glimpse of His glory this Christmas.