freerangefriday: Connecting in the Mess of Christmas

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one of a kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish. John 1: 14 The Message

Life is messy in so many ways… Our lives are filled with bills to pay, dogs to walk, kids to care for… illnesses, loss, suffering… sleepless nights, conflict in relationships, political disagreements….death, violence, abuse. And the messiness of Christmas!

Everything from dirty dishes in the sink, to wrapping paper piled in the corner…from simple messes ,to horrific ones we cannot fix or comprehend. From the forgotten phone calls, to missed flights, Jesus is with us. Immanuel.

Jesus is Born Into the Mess. Into the Middle of Real Life.

Jesus wasn’t born in a sanitized hospital.
He was born in a dirty stable, perhaps even a cave, where the animals were housed. Or as recent scholarship suggests, Jesus was born in the messiness of the household, in the midst of the messiness of community.
Into the mess of real life, the God of the universe became flesh to dwell among us.
Jesus gets visited by dirty shepherds, the outcasts of Jewish society, not the cream of the crop. Jesus doesn’t grow up in a palace, but rather the son of a carpenter doing manual labor.
He lived with sweat, pain, and disappointment & ultimately betrayal and criminal conviction.

Jesus knows we have pain and brokenness. He gets that we are a mess and live in a messy world.

And Jesus came to be with us in the midst of all the messiness of life.

Jesus is the gift of hope in the midst of the mess.

SIT DOWN and consider the birth of this Baby into the mess of life. If you have a nativity scene, a manger, a baby bed or crib sit down beside it.
Talk To God about Jesus coming to Earth as a Baby in into the Mess of Life.

Or if you are in the midst of doing dishes or laundry, or taking out the trash, or picking up after kids, STOP, PAUSE and consider that Jesus came into the midst of our messy world to be with you and me!

Talk to Jesus about your life right now.
What feels Messy? What feels hard or out of control? Tell Jesus about this.
How does it feel to know that Jesus loves you in the midst of the mess of your life?

How does it feel to know that Jesus understands the Mess in your life & loves you anyway?

Will you let Jesus be with you in the mess? Can you choose to receive his love and peace in the middle of the messiness? Are you willing to be willing to receive the gift in the mess and know that Jesus is with you?

As you clean up messes in your home or office this week, pray for the messy world we live in to see more of God’s love and light. Use the messes in your home as Gifts, rather than frustration. Use them as reminders to pray for friends and family who are dealing with messes much bigger than yours. Ask Jesus to fill them with his hope and love, and even joy in their day and in the middle of the mess.

If you happen to be a someone who is never messy, consider leaving something unclean or out of place, as a reminder to pray for the mess in the world.

Allow Jesus to Love you in the Mess of Life this week! In the midst of all the messiness of the holidays,  Let the Love of Jesus hold you! and Heal you! And open your heart to his gift of joy even in the messiness.