The perfect Christmas.
Is there such a thing?
I used to think so. And I used to believe it was up to me to create one for our family. How I ever came to that belief, I don’t know.
Maybe I compared our Christmas to others’ Christmases and ours always fell short. There weren’t as many gifts under our tree, my cookies weren’t as pretty, and my house was never as elaborately decorated.
Maybe I thought the more I did, the more perfect it would be. So, I would strive and strive and end up exhausted.
And, maybe I had unrealistic expectations of what Christmas was and should be. (I know I did.)
Christmases as a child were simple, yet they were always filled with wonder and awe. Mom and Dad didn’t have a ton of money, but they made Christmas special each year. The memories of those by-gone holidays bless me. I wonder why I thought as an adult Christmas needed to be any different?
The Christmases I remember the most are the ones that were far from perfect.
I remember in 2nd Grade coming home from school the week of Christmas with Chicken Pox. I passed it on to my brothers and we were all sick on Christmas. That wasn’t such a perfect Christmas, but yet I remember it well still today.
I also remember one year my brother and I found our Christmas gifts that were hid in our basement. Christmas morning wasn’t the same with us already knowing what we were receiving. That certainly wasn’t a perfect Christmas either, thanks to our curious, selfish selves, but it’s one I haven’t forgotten.
And, I recall just a few years ago when I dumped over our Christmas tree. The sound of it crashing to the floor is a sound I had never heard before, nor have I heard since. It was awful. I buried my face in my hands and cried. I had ruined Christmas, or so I thought. We picked up the tree, set it back in its stand, threw away the broken ornaments, and no one but us four knew any different. Somehow that memorable event continues to get mentioned each year, but now with laughter and smiles.
Friend, how about you? What are some of the most memorable Christmases you’ve had? When you think back, which Christmas has a funny or crazy experience attached to it that you still remember vividly today?
Was your most memorable Christmas the one that wasn’t the perfect Christmas?
I’m going out on a limb to guess it might be. I invite you to share below, or at least answer it for yourself privately.
Maybe it’s time to look at all of this a little differently. Maybe in reality, the perfect Christmas is the one in which we remember the most years later… in all its imperfectness.
Let’s look at Christmas with fresh eyes this season. Let’s embrace the imperfect, and rejoice in the simple. May we smile at what appears to “ruin” Christmas, and stop comparing and striving and doing more than we need to do. May this realization this season guide us a little closer in rediscovering Christmas.
Join me in embracing an imperfect Christmas this year.
The heart of Christmas isn’t about all this stuff anyway, is it? We’ll talk about this tomorrow.
Thanks for hanging out with me here. See you tomorrow!
Blessings,
Julie
This post is part of the series Rediscovering Christmas. I invite you to read all the posts here.
Linking up with Jennifer and Holley.
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This is such a needed message, dear Julie! You’ll have to share some of this at our event next week! <3
Thanks, Lauren. It’s a needed message for me. Looking forward to meeting you in person next week!
Hi Julie,
Love your new headshot, by the way! 🙂 Isn’t it curious how sometimes our worst mistakes make the best memories? On New Year’s Eve a few years ago, with my little niece and nephew spending the night with me, I opened a bottle of Diet Coke only to have it explode everywhere in my kitchen — even the ceiling! They sat on the steps watching me clean up the kitchen but they still talk about it today, that the funniest things happen to their auntie! 🙂 Loved reading about your holiday memories! xo
Hi Valerie! Yes, some of those imperfect times make the greatest times. So glad to read one of yours here today. I imagine that experience is one your niece and nephew will remember for years to come. So glad you stopped in!
I love your sweet perspective, and you are so right…sometimes the not-so-perfect Christmases and events in our lives turn out to be the best and most memorable. I gave up the illusion of a “perfect” anything in this world. I think one of the reasons God allows us to walk through those not-so-perfect times is to make Heaven ever more dear to our hearts…to elevate our thoughts to things above, where everything really is perfect. Thank you for this wonderful post…I am visiting you from Holley’s link-up and so happy I stopped by. You are a blessing! So happy to meet you!
Hi Cheryl! Welcome. I’m blessed that you stopped over, and I appreciate your beautiful perspective. What a gift… “to make Heaven even more dear to our heart.” Thank you for sharing here. God bless you!
One Christmas we were spending with my grandparents, Papaw cut down a tree in the woods. It was very exciting. Christmas morning we woke up and all the needles had fallen off that tree. I guess it was done. 🙂
Oh my, Sarah! That is one to remember! I can picture the poor tree now. I’m honored you shared that here. Embracing the imperfect Christmas can bring us much joy! Bless you!
What a great post, Julie. Sure made me think. And as we embrace those imperfect Christmas memories, it reminds me of how imperfect the very first Christmas was. I’m sure it was nothing like Mary and Joseph had hoped it would be.
Wow, Sabra. Thanks for sharing that thought here. I imagine it was nothing like they planned or hoped. Great thought for me today!