Merry Christmas
In an epic drama, worthy of the most poignant holiday movies, Christmas is an annual reminder of one of the most traumatic moments of my childhood. In first grade, I knew deep in my bones that the teacher in charge of casting the Christmas Pageant at my school would get one look at me and decide to go against the traditional casting of an 8th grade girl as Mary and pick me. In a cruel, cruel twist of fate, I found myself that cold December night standing in front of all my family and class mates singing, "All I want for Christmas Are My Two Front Teeth" as I had sadly lost my front teeth in perfect time for the casting of this role. To add insult to injury, I had to wear those little footed pajamas as my 'costume' and do a little patty-cake hand game and dance with another boy in my class named, I believe, Charlie. As I was convinced, again, deep in my bones, that Charlie had cooties, this seemed like absolute torture. I'm surprised I didn't need therapy to recover from this.
As with many similar childhood experiences, when you look back on them as an adult you see the humor, hubris, and gentle lessons. This memory is now one I am happy to smile over each Christmas season.
In hindsight these dashed dreams of stardom remind me to approach Christmas with a touch of reality. Everyone brings such expectations of perfection to the season. Whether it is the perfect party, meal, family experience, or Mass we face so many pressures of what we think Christmas must be. The absolute let down of the footed pajama episode oddly puts me in the ideal place to celebrate Christmas each year.
Christmas, the original one, is a day that is all about the unplanned or even the disappointments. I really don't think that Mary and Joseph planned to bring Jesus into the world in a manger. They probably had plans to have family supporting them in their own warm and safe home. Those shepherds had their daily routines that were overwhelmed by a choir of angels (and don't you think the sheep were startled, scattered, and had to be gathered into a flock again?). And I wonder what the angels thought when they saw God Incarnate wrapped in folds of fabric, lying in the straw...hardly the grand moment that these celestial beings were used to, I would imagine.
Christmas isn't about the ideal. Christmas is not about perfection. Christmas is about Love. It is about the unimaginable love of God for us. Even when that Love came to us, it was in the messy and real way we each encounter love in our lives.
My wish for you this Christmas day is that where ever you are, whether your day is perfect, whether you are with family or friends or in solitude, whatever the circumstances of this day you experience the unexpected, all-encompassing, all-saving Love of Christ.
May you be blessed beyond measure today and every day. May you be open to the unplanned, unexpected, and unsought. May you find the grace, love, and beauty in the unexpected and chaotic moments of life. May you embrace the messiness of life and love.
Jennifer Delvaux
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