Lisa Witherspoon, Director of Children’s Ministry
Last week, I went to a Christmas party at a friend’s house. It is an annual event with a big group of girlfriends who have journeyed through life together for many years now. We greeted each other with hugs. We had some drinks and yummy food. At some point, our friend apologized for her undecorated Christmas tree.
You see, there was a tree in her living room – a real one – with a tree skirt wrapped neatly around the bottom and some colored lights illuminating the branches, but there were no ornaments hanging from it’s limbs. “It’s one of the things I just haven’t gotten to yet,” she said. Some guests said, “Well mine is only decorated because I wanted to do it while my college kid was home at Thanksgiving, but he/she didn’t really even help.” Some said, “Girl, mine is not decorated yet either!” Some laughed, “I haven’t even put a tree up yet, so you are several steps ahead of me!” Finally, some chuckled about the haphazardly decorated trees in their homes that are adorned with handprint paper angels and glitter-engulfed pinecones their children have made.
After a while, we gathered around on the couches in the living room. We chatted, caught up, laughed, lamented, and had a rather raucous “dirty Santa” ornament exchange in which the most coveted gifts were various angel-shaped ornaments, a Santa doing yoga, and an ornament with a “D” engraved on it that had deep meaning only this group would understand.
As we sat there in the glow of that undecorated tree, I thought to myself that it was the perfect backdrop. That group of women – we’ve done a lot of life together. We’ve carried each other through marriage ups and downs, parenting struggles, job changes, and health challenges. We’ve laughed until we cried and cried until we laughed. We’ve also lost a couple dear friends from the group far too soon, so we’ve grieved together, held each other up, and kept going somehow.
And, we do it all undecorated.
We may get gussied up for a Christmas party (or not!), but we don’t have to disguise anything when we are together. We can ugly cry together. We know each other’s struggles and some of each other’s secrets. When we are together, we can just be who we are — our real selves, our whole selves, our grace-fully undecorated selves. And, just like that tree, it’s beautiful.
God is like that, too. God doesn’t care if you are sparkling from head to toe or stripped completely bare from whatever you’re going through. You can bring it all to Him – real, whole, and completely undecorated. When you do, grace is given. And, really, you might as well anyway, because whatever it is, He already knows.
As this advent nears its pinnacle, I pray you have received the gift of grace – from someone else and from yourself. We come into this world undecorated, and we will leave it that way some day. In the in between, laugh relentlessly, cry desperately, hold others up, and let others hold you when you need it (and even when you think you don’t). Extend abundant grace to others and give even more grace to yourself.
Come to God’s table however you are right now — real, raw, undecorated, beautiful, and beloved.
