Psalm 98:1-3

Sing to the Lord a new song,
    for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
    have worked salvation for him.
The Lord has made his salvation known
    and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
He has remembered his love
    and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
    the salvation of our God.

Christmas approaches, and with it, seasonal anxiety and disappointment, layers compounded by rainy pandemic days, conflate already emotionally heightened holiday preparations. For me, tensions build within, like an internal pressure cooker, frustration and sadness mounting with every unexpected twist and turn. Until, inevitably, my carefully resolved calm cracks into angry tinged words, thick with intensity, disrupting previous efforts to celebrate.

While these broken moments are regrettable, even shame inducing, they provide opportunities for recollection. To recognize my proclivity toward self-preservation, promising fulfillment, but misleading and ultimately depleting. Exposing what has always been. Acknowledging my need for salvation and righteousness apart from myself. Inviting reflection on another broken moment in another time and place. When the God of Wonders gave Himself completely and forever. His only Son conceived and delivered, disrupting, and perfect love poured out.

And the same is true today. Broken moments disrupt and perfect love pours out. Filling up and spilling over. Covering our shame and absorbing regret. Calling us out of confined isolation into heart enlarging restorative spaciousness. Wide open. Ready for what God will do next.

Christmas is coming, and with it, the potential for plenty of broken moments. But we can be ready. Quick to push pause, step back and recollect. To recognize, acknowledge and reflect. Remembering all the wonder of Christmas, not because everyone was perfect, but because the one was perfect. Salvation and righteousness here for you and me. Perfect love pouring out. Making the everyday miraculous. Every broken moment meaningful. And this Christmas worth celebrating.

— Rebecca le Roux