“You okay, mom? You seem a little down.” My oldest asked me the other night.

I paused for a minute, not exactly sure how to respond. On one hand, I wanted to protect her from unnecessary weight that wasn’t hers to carry. On the other hand, I saw a great opportunity to show her honesty and vulnerability, too.

“Yeah, baby, I’m okay.” I finally said. “The holidays can just be really hard sometimes, and today is just a really hard day.”

“I understand.” She sweetly said, and gave me a smile.

And it’s a moment that’s etched in my memory forever, because of all the things I’ve gotten wrong in my lifetime, I think this was something I actually got right — making sure to shield her from details she didn’t need to know, but also making sure to show her that Christmas isn’t always easy; in fact, it can actually be quite messy.

But that mess? It’s exactly why Jesus came in the first place.

To carry our burdens.

To cover our imperfections.

To extend grace after grace to a people who are so undeserving of it.

And if there’s only one thing my girl grows up to know without a shadow of a doubt, I pray with all my heart that’s the thing she knows.

Because life is messy and life is hard…but it will never be too much for Jesus.

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