The barn was probably messy.

I grew up with horses & there always seemed to be dirty wood chips or half chewed hay or steaming piles of –

Yeah. The barn was probably messy.

While royalty dined & laughed & carried on their merry ways in a palace, the King of Kings was born amidst groans & grunts (for some reason I imagine Mary was near piglets) in a messy, steaming piles of you-know-what around, barn.

And you know what? Jesus never really left.

Everyday life can be like a barn; full of crap that feels like it’ll never end no matter how much you shovel & cold at night cause you don’t want to sleep with pigs.

And that’s where Jesus comes to us. In the middle of the mess.

The mess continues even with twinkly lights shining through living room windows & the smell of fresh baking wafting through the air this time of year. Navigating family dynamics, missing friends from afar, losing loved ones. A pretty wreath on the door doesn’t stop heartache, uncertainty, & tragedy from walking in, taking off their boots & staying a while.

We live in the barn.

The Christmas season is magical. Strands of multi-coloured lights making dark streets glow, hunting for the perfect tree in Kananaskis Country, a thin layer of glitter everywhere you go. 

We spend time in ways the world would call inefficient; soaking up every hug on the sidewalk, cuddle on the couch, or laugh on the living room floor for a little longer than usual because love shouldn’t be rushed. The magic of the season makes us feel like little kids, full of wonder & awe over the little things again, even if real life doesn’t stop just because Christmas music is playing on the radio.

In the midst of the mess there’s something more powerful than magic.

Jesus knows the barn well. He’s not afraid of the mess. He wants to be invited into our lives, piles of poop & all.

I know you already did the barn thing, but thanks for coming into mine, too. I did my best to prepare it for you, tried to fluff up the straw extra nice, but I need your help to turn this barn into something better. I need you to make me better.

I need help. I need you. Thanks for coming into the barn.

Merry Christmas, friends.

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