It's Real....It's Messy

We were all off our routine today.  It ended up that just Finn and I went to church.  We went this evening while Kevin put up Christmas lights and Reese was at her Nutcracker stage rehearsal.  Father Joe gave a very good homily.  But after the homily he lit the first candle on the advent wreath.  He talked about how "easy" it would be to have a fake advent wreath.  One that was plastic and easy to clean...maybe even electric lights rather than real candles.  How a fake wreath would be "clean and easy".  Then he discussed how messy real wreaths are.  They have an odor that some find too strong, they dry out and drop their needles, candle wax drips everywhere...they are just messy!  But they are real...and "real is messy"!  Just like life....real is messy!  Amen Father Joe!  My life couldn't be more messy or real if I tried...but I absolutely wouldn't change a thing!  This advent season I'm going to embrace our mess and know that we are living a real life and creating lasting memories for our kids!