It Has to Be Perfect

Every year during the first week of Advent, I go down into the basement and haul up the large cardboard box with the artificial tree in it. Once the three pieces are stacked together and the branches are spread out to look nice, then it is time for me to do my part: I am the only one that can put the lights on the Christmas tree.

Now, this is a sort of self-imposed rule. I have a specific way of running the strand around the tree, clockwise, so that it is evenly spaced and ends exactly at the very top. So I insist, and my family allows, that I add the lights.

Beyond that, I actually have little to do with decorating the tree. As the tallest, I put up the angel at the top. I hang the two ornaments that I like. Then I let the rest of the family decorate the tree as they wish. But those lights must be perfect.

Sometimes it feels like all of Christmas must be perfect. On social media, we see wonderfully decorated homes. We watch movies and ads with perfect family moments. Even in comedies, when everything goes haywire, the fact that it isn’t a perfect Christmas is ‘wrong.’

These societal ideals can put a lot of stress on us to make everything as good as possible. To worry about the decorations, the food, the music, the itinerary. The stress can overtake any other emotion. We cannot feel the joy, wonder, hope, or excitement because it is all overridden by the anxiety that we will ruin Christmas.

Yet, remember that the first Christmas was not perfect by any means. A bunch of the guests, the shepherds, found out just before the party and went in their work clothes. Some of the other guests had to get directions from a star. The venue was a barn filled with animals. The guest of honor was a newborn lying in a feeding trough.

So this year, when you prepare for and celebrate Christmas, remember that God is not looking for, or even expecting, perfect. God has provided perfection in the gift of his son. All we need to do is bring an honest and joyful heart.