This post was written by guest contributor, Sarah Bragg.

The Christmas cards that we receive in the mail are one of my favorites parts of the holiday season. On one hand, I love them because they’re actual mail that awaits me in my mailbox, but on the other hand, I love those cards because of the people and stories they represent. Every family is different. They all have different stories. Most of the cards reflect the smiles and display the easy moments from the past year. They don’t typically capture the imperfect, difficult parts.

It’s not bad to put our best foot forward, but sometimes its easy to look at those cards and see a perfect family. And consequently, to look at our own family and believe we don’t measure up.

We all tend to have an image in our minds of what the perfect family looks like. This is the family who doesn’t fight. Coordinates their clothing. Has toddlers who were potty trained by two. Has tweens who are pleasant every waking moment. Their house smells of gingerbread cookies. And they do Advent family devotionals every day.

We can look at these images in the mail or on social media and wonder how in the world anyone has time to do all the things in December when we’re barely coming up for a single breath each morning.

To me, graceful doesn’t mean perfect. Graceful seems to be fluid, able to move, able to change positions with ease.

There are no perfect families. There are no perfect people. Maybe Graceful December is about letting go of the perfect picture of what you should be doing this season. Maybe its about letting go of the expectation of who you are and what you do. And maybe being graceful is about doing something as you go.

Maybe it’s about letting go of what your house should look like (e.g. It should be fully decorated including mini wooden snow skis and a sled by the fireplace.) Our front steps are bare. We have to skip garland because our cat eats it all. We have minimal decorations up in our house–not because of any reason other than I need things to be simple in life right now. The reality of life for us is chaos, so decorations are something I needed to let go. Its okay that our tree looks like a 5 year old decorated it, because she did! It’s not perfect, but it’s beautiful.

Maybe being graceful is about letting go of what your family should be doing together. We look around and see all the people doing Advent devotionals and crafts with their families. And you want to do Advent because you want to bring the real meaning of Christmas to your children so badly, but you just can’t seem to do it. I get it. I have great intentions and fail every year. Give yourself grace.

I am going to go ahead and raise my hand here. We aren’t doing Advent this year. I give you permission to relax. Maybe instead of doing some elaborate craft (because crafting with toddlers is elaborate!), you simply set up a nativity scene and talk about the characters. I overheard my 5 year old playing with our Little People Nativity set. She performed the wedding ceremony of Mary and Joseph saying, “You may now kiss the bride.” Then, she pressed the button to play “Away In A Manager.” Adorable, right? As you go.

You don’t have to do bible readings everyday, but you can incorporate the truths of Christmas as you go. My nearly 8 year old thought Moses was Jesus’ father. I have a seminary degree and my child is missing key components of the story. But you know what, it’s okay. She will get it one day. Isn’t that being graceful—fluid and able to move with ease? We will talk about the actual characters of the story as we go.

Maybe graceful is about letting go of what you look like.

Maybe you put so much pressure on doing all the right things for your kids, their classrooms, their teachers or your friends that you have placed an unattainable expectation on yourself. Extend grace to yourself.

Allow yourself to take in the wonder of the season. Do something that feeds your soul.

Last Sunday, we decided to not go to church. No one was sick. The weather was pleasant. But sometimes we need to let go of of the expectation of going to church every Sunday—even in December. That day, it was better for our family to be home. The girls built a fort in their room while my husband and I read books by the fire. My soul was refreshed.

Graceful December is about letting go of perfection—letting go of expectations. Embrace an attitude of ease. I officially take the pressure off of you. Leave room to move this Christmas and to be inspired. Leave room to breathe.

Because maybe, just maybe, God wants to do something graceful in you.

And Graceful December is about experiencing Christmas as you go. As you go, let the wonders of this season bring up the truth that God loves us so much that He gave us the greatest gift.

Sarah is in her mid-thirties striving to keep her head above water while seeking to live a life with purpose. She is married with two beautiful (busy) girls. She worked in full-time ministry for more than 10 years. Before having kids, which left her wondering how to connect words to form a complete sentence, she graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary and authored the book, Body. Beauty. Boys. The Truth About Girls and How We See Ourselves. She is currently the Lead Editor for XP3 Middle School at Orange. She could spend countless hours decorating, drinking coffee, on Instagram and perusing Pinterest. She creates over at SurvivingSarah.com and you can find her on IG as @sarahwbragg.

I met this beautiful mama and kindred heart at Allume just a few months back. Perhaps the most wonderful thing about attending a Christian women’s writing conference is meeting like-minded, thought provoking friends we wouldn’t otherwise have the privilege to know. I love Sarah’s heart for her family and for keeping things real in a gracious way. She has an amazing eye for design and an obvious passion for ministry. If only we didn’t live a great distance apart…it would be so fun for our lives and kiddos to intersect in daily life. Thankful for the way something as abstract as the internet can bring us together and keep us connected! As you go today, friends. xo, molly madonna