It appears I’m finding more inspiration from my cosmetics drawer for these advent posts. The other day it was foundation. Today I’ve moved up the next layer to the concealer.

I love these slogans and catchphrases, or rather, claims that they put on products.

My concealer claims that if I use it I’ll be “Photoready”. Am I ever photo ready?

One of the ongoing pressures of social media and everyone filming people whenever they feel like it, is that we are required in our current society to be “photo ready” wherever we are, all the time.

That’s just totally unrealistic.

However, I don’t think it’s just social media to blame. Think of the Christmas cards you’ve received over the decades. Everyone and everything is so perfectly placed in that nativity scene. Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the Magi (three or otherwise).

Or the family Christmas photo in which everyone is supposed to look happy and perfect.

That’s just totally unrealistic.

I hardly think Mary and Joseph were photo ready on the night of Jesus’ birth.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

That’s a pretty low bar. That’s nothing like photo ready. That’s just doing what you can with what you’ve got.

It takes off a lot of pressure.

Mary and Joseph were just doing what they needed to do. No more. No less.

Get to the home town for the census. Have the baby when due.

They weren’t photo ready. They didn’t even have a room.

Instead of getting all panicked and overwhelmed this Christmas about all the ways we need everything to be ‘just right’ or photo ready, perhaps we can take a leaf out of Mary and Joseph’s book.

I don’t have to be perfect. I just have to have my boxes ticked.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Every single one. No more. No less.

There’s no pressure to be perfect. Just do what I need to do.

That’s all that Mary and Joseph did.

Yours sorting out boxes,

Alison