Picture Perfect Christmas

Preconceived notions about the holidays . . . we all have them. The perfect tree. The perfect house. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Jack Frost nipping at your nose. Yada, yada, yada . . . yeah right.

It's not a secret that I'm a bit high strung, and Christmastime, in particular, has the ability to induce a level of anxiety in me that no other holiday does. Why? Because of those dang preconceived notions, of course. I want Christmas to be perfect, and by perfect, I mean I want not only a perfect day with no problems, the perfect family (you can stop laughing now), my child dressed in the perfect clothing (instead of the mismatched sweats he loves so much), and the perfect weather, I also want everything surrounding it to be perfect. I want Norman Rockwell. Realistic? Maybe in the twilight zone.

So here lately, I've been trying to let go and let Christmas be what it is . . . far from perfect. It's not surprising that the scripture that has been popping up quite a bit lately in my devotional time is Philippians 4:4-7:

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

⁵ Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

It's that "be anxious for nothing" part that gets me every time. I'm seriously supposed to not worry and just let God take care of everything? Crazy concept if you ask me. (Please note the sarcasm.) So, I'm working on it. I'm not there yet, but I've let go of Norman Rockwell at least. Because, quite honestly, our Christmas tends to be more like National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and yes, I am Clark Griswold. One step at a time people. It's harder than it looks. ;)