Ugly Christmas

Did you know?

Christmas can be ugly.

Just put ugly Christmas into Google and you'll find page after page of ugly.  Ugly sweaters. Ugly decorations.  Ugly lights.

Go to the store.  The sales push is ugly.  Greed is ugly.  The parking lot and store is full of ugly attitudes.

Indulgence is ugly.

Decadence is ugly.

Expectations are ugly.  Fear is ugly.

My attitude and words have been ugly.  Sorry friends.

I like the ugly answer or the hard truth.  I like it better than a lie or better than an avoidance.

Doing the right thing or the "noble" thing can feel ugly good.

I'm stuck on a Bible story lately.

Two women come before Solomon.  They are both claiming a child as their own.  They are both claiming to love the child. Solomon says something ugly.  He says cut the child in half and give half to each woman.  Ugly.  One woman refuses the offer, one accepts.  One woman wants the child divided to have her fair share, to prove herself right no matter the cost.  One woman would rather see the child live and be unharmed in someone else's arms than her own.

They story has a "happy" ending.  Solomon realizes the woman who would give up her child rather than slice him in two is really the mother and "awards" the child to her.

I don't know that real life is like that.

Sometimes love lets go, gives wings, sets free and is happy for the outcome.

Sometimes when our prayers are answered the answers feel ugly.

With each foster, I pray for their families to find ways to heal and fix themselves.  I pray for families to find their ways back to each other, for homecomings.

I pray for homecomings.

I pray for healed and fixed families, fences mended.

I am going to look at these hard answers, not through my doubts, my fears, my petty feelings and see answered prayers.

I'm going to see ugly good answered prayers.

May it be a stunningly blessed season for you.