If you scroll through Instagram right now, it looks like the entire world is living in a snow globe. You know the photos I’m talking about. The ones with the perfectly coordinated matching pajamas. The trees that look like they were decorated by a professional designer (and maybe they were). The baking videos where no one spills flour on the floor and everyone is smiling. It's beautiful. It really is. But if I’m being honest with you guys today? It’s also exhausted me.
It is so easy to fall into the comparison trap around the holidays. We see everyone else living their "best life" by attending every event, wrapping mountains of gifts, and glowing with festive cheer—and suddenly, our own reality feels a little… lackluster. Because while the internet is posting highlight reels, life is still happening. And real life doesn't always pause for December 25th.
Real life looks like the check engine light coming on three days before you’re supposed to travel.
Real life looks like unexpected expenses (hello, medical bills or home repairs) that eat up the budget you set aside for gifts.
Real life looks like the heavy, quiet heartache of looking at your child's wish list and knowing you can’t treat them to everything on it this year.
Real life just stinks like that sometimes. If you’re currently looking around at a life that feels more "messy" than "merry," I want to remind you of something I’ve had to remind myself of this week:
Christmas was never about perfection.
If we look back at the very first Christmas, there were no matching pajamas. There was no perfectly decorated tree. There wasn't even a guest room available.
The first Christmas was chaotic. It was messy. It involved a young couple far from home, a last-minute shelter in a stable, and the smell of animals. It was gritty and real.
And yet, that is exactly where God chose to show up.
God didn't wait for the world to be perfect before He sent His Son. He sent Jesus into the mess. He sent Him because of the mess.
When the car breaks down, or the bank account looks scary, or the plans fall apart, it doesn’t mean you’ve failed at Christmas. It just strips away the shiny wrapping paper to reveal what remains.
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given...”
ISAIAH 9:6
The pressure to create a magical experience for our families often makes us forget that the magic has already happened. The work is done. The gift has been given. Jesus Christ is the gift that doesn't break. He is the provision that doesn't run out. He is the peace that doesn't depend on how many presents are under the tree.
So, if your holiday season feels like a "Very Merry Mess," take a deep breath. You're in good company. Let’s stop comparing our behind-the-scenes reality with everyone else’s highlight reel. Let’s embrace the mess, love our families through the chaos, and fix our eyes on the Manger, the humble, messy, beautiful place where Hope was born.
In the middle of it all, He is with us. Merry Blogmas, Reader!
