Connect with Jesus Imperfectly

Christmas is supposed to be a time of celebrating the birth of Jesus, and yet it’s so hard to actually focus on Him! Our schedules get rearranged, and if you’re like me, when that routine changes, so do all the predictable things along with it. Things like reading the Bible, journaling, and taking silent pauses in the middle of my day to lift up my cares to God. And then I wonder why I feel so fried and worn out!

One option is to say forget it - just do all the cultural Christmas things and give up trying to grow closer to Jesus at the same time. Do you ever struggle with feeling like if you can’t do something really well or completely that it isn’t worth doing? Yeah, I go there too.

But spiritual disciplines done imperfectly are still helpful. God isn’t watching you with narrowed eyes waiting to see if you do everything “right”.

If that’s the case, what are some ways that we can still grow closer to Jesus, even if it’s imperfect? (Because it’s always going to be imperfect, anyway…)

1. Take advantage of the small nuggets of time.

The school pickup line.

The moments after the kids go to bed or are otherwise occupied. (My teens go to bed after me half the time…)

Take a walk.

Take a drive.

Step outside for a few moments on a lunch break.

Take a breath and acknowledge His presence with you and thank Him for the gift of Jesus.

2. Memorize a short Bible verse that relates to Christmas and remind yourself of it throughout the day.

“She will give birth to a son and will call Him Emmanuel, which means, ‘God with us.’” Isaiah 7:14

“He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

There are many other options, of course.

Here are some tips on memorizing and meditating on Scripture.

3. Journal about what makes Christmas meaningful to you whenever you get a chance.

When you feel worn down, take a couple minutes and write out how you’re feeling and remind yourself of truth. But give yourself grace if your regular routine is difficult to maintain.

We can’t do everything, but we can do some things. The trick is picking the right ‘somethings’.

Emily P. Freeman has some great suggestions about this in her latest podcast

Just because things can be a little crazy this month doesn’t mean that we can’t still draw close to Jesus. It won’t be perfect and that’s OK. Let yourself off the hook. Remember that the point isn’t to check every box and make God happy with you. He already loves you passionately - no amount of checked or unchecked boxes can change that.

The point is to connect with Jesus throughout your day.