Yes, we’ve got a beautiful lit up tree and decorations out, but we’ve got THIS, too.

Clutter and chaos and proof I’m flying by the seat of my trusty stretch pants.

As I hurried around the bedroom corner, chasing down a gift bag my toddler swiped from my wrapping “station,” I caught a glimpse of this glorious mess.

Little gift stashes and papers that need filing and stacks of photos that need putting away.

And they’ll get put away.

And a pile of little clothes that occupied a little boy while mama tracked down - whatever I needed to track down today - will get put away, too.

But not just yet.

Because I’m feeling some holiday pressure already, and I’m not going to let this stress me out even more. And, friend, neither should you.

Because there’s a whole lot we’ve got to shoulder at Christmas, and it’s exhausting enough without keeping everything perfectly tidy as we go.

Sometimes, we just need grace to wait on some things while we do what must come first.

And we need grace to not feel more rushed than we already are.

And we need grace to notice there’s already a whole lot of treasure all around.

We need to make it our priority to adjust our focus and value THEM most.

They’re the ones playing and giggling in the pile of little clothes.

Innocence. Comfort. Joy.

That’s the picture of Christmas I want to see at our house.

(Mommys15Minutes, Jaclyn Warren)