Dangling garland, and how God uses things that don't go according to our plan to accomplish a greater purpose

Perhaps the best part about our “Hanging of the Green” service at church last Sunday  night was the garland that wouldn’t hang right. The right side held up just fine, as did the middle. But not the left side. So it dangled for the rest of the service right over middle of the baptistery like an Oregon pickup truck hanging off the highway overpass. 

This was not the way the service was scripted. The garland was supposed to be hanging proudly, not dangling precariously. And right up front and center for everyone to see. We had guests with us; what would they think?

I had thought the best part of the service was seeing all the children come in ringing their bells, singing songs about Jesus and decorating the tree. The thrill and joy of children at Christmas has a way of keeping the season exciting for us older people, too. 

I had thought the best part of the service was hearing different church members read from the Bible about how Jesus came to be the light of the world, and how His arrival in Bethlehem led the angels to burst forth in joyous praise. Everything else is second to the proclamation of the Word of God and the worship of the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us, without whom we wouldn’t have Christmas at all. 

I had thought the best part of the service was listening to Lauren Morrow and Rachel Warren sing “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” Or maybe it was hearing Tiffany Owens sing beautifully the song, “Mary, Did You Know” while her father accompanied her on guitar. Or perhaps it was the choir singing a hymn from their upcoming Christmas cantata, “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus.” These and other familiar Christmas carols sung we sang together add rich and meaningful flavor to our Christmas experience. 

I had thought the best part of the service was that Logan Withers didn’t set anything on fire when he lit the advent candle. I had thought the best part of the service was that no youth fell off the ladders while hanging up the wreaths. I had thought that Mike Bennett’s professional-quality reading voice as he explained the meaning of some of the decorations was the best part of the service. I had thought that Chery Stacy’s prep work in getting things in place was the best part. I had thought that the teamwork involved from everyone participating was the best part, or maybe it was the soup and sandwiches and snacks we enjoyed afterward. 

As it turned out, however, the one thing that didn’t go well may have been the best part of all. The morning after the service one of our newer members told me that she knew she really felt at home here when we couldn’t get the evergreen to hang up right. 

So no matter how much we can plan and prepare for everything to go “right,” or at least the way we think it should, maybe it’s okay if it doesn’t. God can still (and often does) use our imperfections to accomplish something our best laid plans never could. 

Having his bride-to-be become pregnant was never in Joseph’s plan (especially since he wasn’t even the father), but that worked out pretty well in the end. Watching Jesus get arrested, beaten and crucified wasn’t in the disciples’ plan for their Messiah, but that worked out pretty well in the end, too. 

We don’t have everything figured out here, either. I certainly don’t anyway. But I am more than willing to let Jesus come and “steal my show,” to borrow a line from TobyMac’s newest CD, which my wife let my listen to all the way through on our trip to visit family last week! “So I’ll step out the way, I’ll give You center stage.” 

And, friend, if you’re wanting to feel at home, please know you’re welcome to come and join a bunch of other people who don’t always get it right, but we’re trusting in the One who does. Lord Jesus, take center stage in our lives this Christmas, and always!