A Weary World

This year I felt like I just couldn’t. I wanted to blame Pinterest and Instagram for my discontent. I looked at my forever messy house and scowled at the lingering Lego pieces, like unwanted house guests, who make themselves just a little too comfortable. Then there’s the scraps of paper that can’t seem to make it to the trash and scatters of dull eraserless pencils that conveniently skedaddle when it is time to write out spelling words. And I just couldn’t. The box of Christmas decorations sat at my feet, like a puppy waiting to be let out, bursting at the seams with tinsel and cotton ball sheep. And I thought where will I even put you? The level of dust I needed to clean off my sill to set up my nativity scene was too much for the half-hearted paper towel swipe it would receive. These decorations won’t even look good, they will just add to the chaos. Maybe this year, I just won’t!

Begrudgingly, I dug out the new stockings a dear friend had given me, Scottish plaid with rusty bells. I thought how great they would look in someone else’s house. I hung them on the window cranks and over the back of a rocking chair, the tags still on and thought . . . this is probably where they will stay. Why do I even bother, these will never get hung properly; we have not once managed to hang stockings on our fireplace. Even people in coal towns, surviving the Great Depression, could manage to hang up stockings; let alone, compete with one of the endlessly beautiful bloggers I follow or my many talented friends and family. Maybe I just won’t decorate this year.

I pondered this idea of not decorating a few days later. Christmas has become about commercialism anyway, I reasoned, and most likely baby Jesus wasn't even born in December, so perhaps I just shouldn’t bother. I’ll take a stand against everything Christmas has become—too many gifts, too much sugar and way too much stress. Who needs it?

Immediately, a small voice came in my head: You need it and so do the people around you. Christmas might not be on the right date, but the time of year is fitting. As December in Michigan is the darkest month on the calendar, with the shortest days, it makes perfect sense that we would illuminate our houses with light. Exactly what God did when he sent his son, Jesus, into a dark world. He could have thought, this world is a mess, who will even notice or who will even care. I’ll send him later when the place is picked up a bit; I’ll wait till he can show up in a palace instead of a stable. When the town isn’t so busy and there is actually room in the inn. But no, He sent Him when the world needed it most, into a dirty, smelly stable and said I'll put Him right here where He is needed.

Following the camel tracks of those wise fellows of old, I followed the North Star, not looking for something that is worthy of social media, not decorations for a photo shoot, but something warm and inviting, however simple or messy. The point of Christmas isn’t so people can be in awe of my house (especially since this is not my gifting) but that I offer light on a dark night. Hope in a messy world. It’s a moment to pause and focus on something else, right when we need it most, in the darkest of days. We love our trees because they are full of light and beauty, memories and hope; besides, they look best in the dark (plus than you can’t see clutter on the coffee table).

We are desperate for light and hope and what better than a twinkling tree with handmade ornaments? They don’t even have to match. A big hit for me is the upside-down paper bowl jellyfish (move over reindeer) who is down to two paper streamer tentacles, making most wonder just what he is exactly. These little lights on a string and cherished decorations are lifted from their dusty boxes, only slightly worse for the wear and put out to warm my heart just when I need them. And when I see your decorations, either well-appointed or slightly off-skewed, I’m warmed on a cold night.

One of my favorite Christmas presents came after my baby was born in December and nursing was a nightmare and I hadn’t showered and nothing was okay. We were heading to our family’s house for Christmas Day anyway, so I thought, why bother to decorate? I don’t even have the energy to put on real clothes. It won’t matter. But as it turned out, it did matter. On those dark days I did need some light and cheer. I told my friend how hard new life with baby was and how I couldn't put up a tree or manage to eat more than toast. The next day my friends showed up with a tree and decorations and forced their way into my living room. And as I sat on the couch while they decorated it, I knew this had been missing. I did need this in ways I hadn’t realized. I’m reminded of their gift each year when we get out that tree. I still get misty-eyed when I talk about it; this tree was not something you would post on Instagram, it was just an ordinary Christmas tree, but the story is worth a 1000 likes.

The holiday season is often a painful one. I watch people wipe away tears during carols because they miss someone or feel a loneliness more keenly when the focus is so laser-pointed on family and being together. I lost a best friend last year, a week before Christmas, and my family had a tragic loss this year, and it makes you think: Why celebrate? Why decorate? Life is so hard. But that is why exactly—because life is hard and full of dark days—we put up lights to show that there is hope. He, Emmanuel, was born in a barn, but it was right under a bright star.

~A weary world rejoices~

Post Script: My husband hung up our stockings this year – on the chimney – and they look great! Such a small thing made such an impact on me. Sure there are piles of books, glue sticks and puzzle pieces still cluttering the hearth, but the stockings are hung!

Write about light in a weary world, here are some ideas:

Why do you take the time to do Christmas—decorate cookies, hang lights, mail cards or any other Christmas traditions.

Journal about a gift or an act of kindness that meant something to you around the holidays?

Write about what you struggle with during (at least in Michigan) the quite literally dark days of this month? How can you shine light into this area?

Share your work here