What words would you use to describe Christmas? For some reason, one of the first words to come to mind is – chaos. I was in a family of eight so Christmas was crazy! Five boys and a girl – even good little boys and girls – carry chaos along with them no matter what day of the week it is. And holidays especially.

Can you imagine getting everyone to the Christmas Eve candlelighting church service on time? How did my mom keep our tiny ties straight and my sister’s dress clean while piling us all in the car? There were no car seats in my younger days to keep us all separated. And the mini-van wasn’t invented yet. We practically sat on top of each other.

How did my dad keep six kids’ candles lit and avoid six puddles of wax on the church carpet? That’s a Christmas miracle in my book! It’s a wonder no one (to my knowledge) was branded during the closing prayer. How did he prevent us from tattooing each other with soot when the candles were out? By the grace of God. That’s how Christmas handles chaos.

How does your family open presents Christmas morning? My wife and I hold to the tradition of her family. Someone plays Santa and hands out the gifts. And one by one, each package is unwrapped and appreciated. Everyone focuses on the person opening the gift. Yes, it makes for a longer unwrapping process, which the kids hated. But it also multiplies the thank you’s and the gratefulness for everyone around the tree.

Now in my family growing up – a different story altogether. There was only one moment of pause on Christmas morning – and it was painful. Waiting, waiting, waiting at our bedroom door, all us boys like horses confined in their gates at the start of the race. We started whispering down the hall early in the A.M. “Dad, dad! Can we come out yet?” We were always told to wait on our first request. Then the whisper grew into a raspy holler. “Daaaa-ad. Is it time yet?” The pushing and shoving and the rising volume eventually wore down my parents until finally – the hounds were released!

In just a few furious minutes, the living room looked like a woodchipper drove through it – sending shreds of ribbon, foil and cardboard into air! A scene of Christmas chaos. My parents foraged through the mess to make sure all the gifts were actually opened. For us kids, that’s how the Christmas fun began.

Chaos is no stranger to Christmas. Even the very first Christmas. We sing, “All is calm, all is bright” and “Sleep in heavenly peace.” But what was it really like that the first night?

Shepherds were either asleep or on watch by their fire in the fields. Out of nowhere, at least from nowhere on this planet, an unearthly voice booms and a figure to bright to look at appears. Did the sheep scatter? Did the shepherds scatter? Did they grab their weapons to defend themselves? Heaven’s light surrounds and envelopes them. They can’t escape the brightness pouring through this open portal to God’s kingdom.

The stranger brings good news of great joy wrapped up in a little bundle – a newborn nearby, the Messiah they’ve been waiting for. Total astonishment replaces their terror!

Heaven’s window tears open and from one end to the other, the sky is suddenly ablaze with angelic excitement and a song proclaiming peace on earth. And as suddenly as they arrived, they disappeared. The black blanket of a silent night descends and covers the countryside again.

The shepherds are in a panic – an awestruck panic. They speak in half sentences trying to make sense of what just happened while their eyes slowly adjust to the darkness and the small fire in front of them. What to do next? Chaos at Christmas.

It was a chaos orchestrated by God to get their attention so He could show them something, someone life-changing.

The chaos actually starts months prior. When the villagers in the little town of Nazareth read the copy of the official document from the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus, their lives were turned upside down. Chaos. Everyone in the empire – from Spain to Israel, from Turkey to Egypt – everyone must return to their family’s origin and register. The government wants to know who you are, where you live and where you’re from.

A very pregnant Mary travels with her husband almost two weeks to get to Bethlehem. Imagine going backpacking for two weeks eight months pregnant. Carrying your own provisions, stopping for pee breaks, getting directions messed up. It’s not like the trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem is a smooth interstate either. The terrain is a constant up and down. Roaming bandits and feral boars are always a danger. This was no Sunday picnic and completely unexpected and unexplainable. Mary and Joseph had to be thinking, “God what are you doing?”

God orchestrated this chaos, too. If he was getting the shepherds attention, he was getting this couple’s dependence.

What looks like chaos to us is God orchestrating something. God grabbed the attention of the shepherds to tell them good news. How it must have felt to realize that God sees you, He notices you – even when you are on the margins, in the shadows of all the really important people and the really important things they have going on.

There is a peace, a calm that comes with knowing He sees me and cares about me. Think about that – God didn’t announce the human birth of His Son in Rome the political capital of the empire. He didn’t wake up Caesar. No angelic courier burst through a meeting of the Roman Senate. He gave the light show from heaven to the unnoticed, the underappreciated, the unimportant. Those are the ones He cares for. They got the birth announcement.

So pay attention – especially in the chaos. God notices and He cares and He’s announcing something just for you.

There’s a peace in knowing He has a plan – especially when the journey is riddled with chaos! When it doesn’t make sense. Maybe your journey this Christmas isn’t full of bandits, donkeys or dusty valley roads but it’s difficult travelling nonetheless. Maybe it makes as much sense as a pregnant couple leaving their home to walk 90 miles to a town with no rooms available.

I need to honestly consider that my chaos could be an invitation. An invitation for me to depend less on myself and my resources which, trust me, are very limited. And instead depend more and more on God’s undisclosed plan and His mysterious way of providing the next step in the journey. It is interesting in the Lord’s prayer that we are taught to pray, “Give us our daily bread,” and not a weekly paycheck. It’s not a matter of money or food – it’s a matter of dependence.

There is a peace knowing that He sees you. And there is a calm in knowing He has a plan – even in chaos. I hope you can find that peace in a fresh experience with God. Especially during the Christmas season. I’d love to help you do that. Check out the +NextStep for this episode or maybe the +DeepDive. These two personal guides only take a few minutes and you will find them helpful in making the inspirational practical. Check out the sidebar to sign up for one of them.

I really want to give you a Christmas, “Peace Out” but I won’t. It’s too Christmas-cliché. However, I will give you this last encouragement: LifeisBest when we see chaos as God’s announcement to pay attention and depend on His care for us and His plan for us.

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