So Many Questions, and Cut it Off
Every year at Christmastime, this legendary picture gets some quality air time. Feast your eyes on this baby. No, this is not an Awkward Family Photo, this is me (and Britt), around the same age my son is now. Which means that this photo is officially a throwback. I have mixed feelings about the whole affair, so please, allow me to be vulnerable with you and ask some honest and raw questions.
Where are my eyebrows?
Why the neck beard?
How did crushed velvet come back in style so quickly? And why am I re-buying the trends I already lived through? (Doc Marten, I’m looking at you.)
Why are Britt’s pants voluminous enough to make a sail (or large shelter) if he crashed on a deserted island?
What ever happened to wood paneling?
How did Britt’s parents allow him to date a girl in such a short skirt?
Why would I go out with a guy who wore that sweater? Or had that mustache?
How did I end up marrying that guy?
But the worst (best?) part is, and what my kind and loving mother in law has made sure to eradicate the evidence of, is that I had on a short overall-skirt thing that my clueless 19 year-old self didn’t realize was totally showing the camera my skivvies. So, like a wise and innovative pre-photoshop wiz, she busted out the scissors and cut it off.
That’s what people who love you do for you, they cut things off in your life that you aren’t aware of, just for the sake of love. And now, what would have overshadowed the whole photo with even more shame, made way for a sweet memory and a good laugh. Just a little editing, just a little purposeful trim, can change the big picture.
I’m older now. I’ve seen some life. And I can tell you with confidence that God is a giver, not a taker. That sometimes a little cutting off of things in our lives makes way for the better things. If God is doing this in you, be sure of this: He loves you. He is creating a truer, more beautiful picture of your life and sometimes it takes the sharp sting of scissors.
What in you needs cutting off right now? Not just for the sake of embarrassment, but for the sake of peace? Of love? Of joy? What in your life can you toss out so that the beautiful things can shine through? Is it a habit? An app? Is it mental clutter or actual clutter that crowds out the good? Is it noise you’ve allowed into your heart or home that’s so loud you can’t hear the angels sing? Maybe it’s perspective or messages you’re getting from culture. Cut some things, my friends, so the good can be seen more clearly. Hand those scissors to a God who pursues you.
Friends, we are on the home stretch in Advent. This is our chance! To give to someone in need, to hug your grandma. This is our chance to sing in the streets, to turn our eyes to the stars. This is our chance to dwell on the Incarnation, the radical-ness of a God who chose to become human to show us what love looks like. And to love him in return.
And when love looks a lot like dirt, like sweat, like outcasts and humility and joy. Like stars and gold and kingly gifts. Like making room, like chasing after the ones who are running. Like food and candles and music and fire, I’m here for it.
It’s Christmastime, my loves! Let the scissors fly so the light can shine in!
Love,
kate