My family Christmases don’t look anything like those peaceful family gatherings you see on TV, with family members crowded around a table with a superficial calmness among all their faces.

No, our family gatherings are chaotic and loud. From my mom and dad to my brothers and sister and their spouses to my spunky young nieces, everyone is making sure their voice is heard. Among the boisterous talk, there’s children weaving in and out of the room playing games, pans are banging in the kitchen as we finish the meal preparation, and if we’re lucky, the dogs are running around the house barking because the fire alarms announce dinner is ready. It’s a mess.

But as one foster family once told me, “our family is a beautiful mess,” and honestly, I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

Christmas is the time for family. As one of the editors on the communications team at Buckner International, I am privileged to talk to so many of the families in our programs – all geared toward strengthening the family – and I get to see firsthand how the beautiful mess we call family shines a light into our lives.

And at the center of it all is Jesus Christ. As we reflect on the birth of our Savior, take time to celebrate your family and remember how the Lord has carried you through this year. Because no matter what your Christmas celebrations look like — whether it’s a loud and chaotic evening with your family or a more simple, quiet gathering — bringing Jesus into the center of our Christmas celebrations can bring the peace to this beautiful mess we call family.

But the loving kindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep his covenant and remember his precepts to do them. –Psalm 103:17-18 (NASB)

Written by Aimee Freston, the electronic media editor for Buckner International in Dallas. She travels frequently to Austin, Waco and Wisconsin to smother her five adorable nieces with hugs and kisses and play loud, competitive board games with her siblings and parents.

This devotion is an excerpt from the free Buckner Christmas devotion guide, a series of devotions written to help us come closer to God during the Christmas season. Order your copy of the devotion series by clicking here.