Christmas has always been one of my favorite seasons. While growing up, my family would drive to British Columbia from Alberta (in Canada), to visit my grandparents and cousins each Christmas. These are some of my fondest memories. As the Christmas seasons continue to pass, I realize that it wasn’t the cookie decorating, gifts, or games that truly brought the “magic,” but the time spent together.
I have become immune to store decorations and aisles of chocolate. Though don’t get me wrong, I love chocolate; these items often distract from the spiritual and emotional point of Christmas. Jesus arrived in the most humble of ways. Perhaps the people in Jesus’ day would have been numb to the prestige and grandeur of someone arriving as a king. They certainly didn’t expect a stable entrance with all the real “goop” present. They expected a clean put-together approach.
No one wants to see the real “goop” of our lives, or so we think. We hide the messiness and want to show, instead, a nicely displayed table and presents under the tree. As a child, Christmas was perfect. I never knew the cost of the gifts, the stress of the meal prep, or the anxiousness of driving in the snow. I simply arrived and enjoyed.
Yet, as I now understand, sometimes it’s hard to even get the whole family together for Christmas. Everyone has different schedules, new life changes, and travel looks different. My Christmas this year is a combination of seeing family for only a few hours at a time, FaceTiming those I can’t, and traveling great distances, even for a hug. Yet it’s through this messiness that Jesus is there, reminding us that He too arrived in the “goop.” We can enjoy the craziness and the unorganized table settings, and the FaceTimes instead of physical visits, and still rest in the fact of Jesus’ presence with us.
May we enjoy the “goop” this season.
Kalmani Amoah is a passionate Christmas movie-watcher, who enjoys baking/eating cookies, and exploring new places. She enjoys life with her spouse, Ben Amoah.