Messy

Just a few days to Christmas now. In my mind, I want our days leading up to Christmas to look something like this: 

 And this:

 And sometimes it does. But sometimes, it can also look like lots of laundry (at least it's clean)...

 ...and an unmade bed...

...because Christmas, just like any other time of year, can get messy.

Lately, I've been tempted to succumb to discouragement and weariness because Christmas isn't always peace and joy. Those things haven't been absent, but there's also been a fair amount of dashing about, frantic list-making and plan-plan-planning.

I'm realizing a little each day, though, that while things are a little crazy (and perhaps some of it is self-imposed?), it's another reminder that this is why we celebrate Christmas in the first place - that our world and our hearts are so very messy that we need Someone to come and set things right. This messiness is why Jesus endured birth in a stable (messy), life in a family (definitely messy), and death on a cross (horribly messy).

Slowly, I remember that my messes - both big and small - don't have to stay messy, but in the hands of the Redeemer, can be made beautiful.