“Do I put up the tree this year?” That is the question I have asked myself every November for the last few years. My family of course always wants me to put up the Christmas tree, but no one wants to help.
Putting up the Christmas tree is a lot of work. It usually takes me all day and makes a huge mess. Thousands of “needles” end up scattered all about the house as I carry arms full of branches up the basement stairs and through the house to the living room. This year, I lost track of how many branches broke off the limbs as I twisted them into shape.
Inevitably, the lights don’t work, and apparently, I threw several strings away after Christmas last year. I do recall being frustrated with the ones that had to be jiggled just right to coax all of the bulbs to light. So, this year required a trip to purchase new lights.
Furthermore, there is the problem with the cat. Princess Purrbox likes to hide in the tree. The dog knows that climbing the tree is not allowed. So, our poodle ends up messing up the lights and tinsel as she tries to get the cat out. The tree rattles and shakes; ornaments fall.
Then, after just a few weeks, the ornaments and decorations have to be taken off the tree. The tree must be taken apart, hauled back down the stairs and put into storage. Once again, thousands of “needles” need swept.
I wonder each year, “Do we even need a tree? Is putting one up really worth taking time out of my busy schedule?”
However, each time that I unwrap the ornaments, I am reminded of special times and special people who have made an impact on my life. Our tree is full of memories.
When we got married, my husband, Sam, wanted to start a tradition by exchanging ornaments each year, but I thought it was silly. I felt really bad when he presented me with an ornament of a child on a sled for our first Christmas, and I didn’t have one for him. I bought him one later, but I think about that every year as I hang each ornament and our story unfolds on the tree.
The ornaments on our tree mark memorable occasions in our lives. There are some “Baby’s First Christmas” ornaments that record when each of our four children were born. There is a “New House” ornament for the year we built a house in the country, and the new millennium is recognized on our tree with a time capsule (which never got filled because that was the same year that child number four was born, and we were pretty busy).
The wooden candles remind me of the time Sam and I were served a volunteer appreciation dinner and given the wooden candles as a thank you. There are ornaments from my former Sunday School students, my friends and a secret pal from the ladies’ group I used to attend. Several of the ornaments were sent to us as a thank you for volunteering with Operation Christmas Child through Samaritan’s Purse.
The ornaments on the tree remind me of people who have made an impact in my life. Some of the scratched up, glass ball ornaments belonged to my maternal grandmother who let me help her put the tree up. She used tinsel icicles on her tree, and sometimes we would scoot our feet across the carpet while holding an icicle so that the static electricity would shock my little sister.
Some of the turquoise ornaments belong to my paternal grandmother who oozed with the love of Jesus. She actually gave me her little four-foot tree the year Sam and I got married, and we used it for a couple of years until we purchased a larger one.
There is a hand painted ornament that a family friend, Betty made for me when I was a child and a wooden nativity ornament that another friend brought to me after her trip to the Holy Land. The ball ornaments with the glittery gold stars and nativities are from a woman who took me under her wing and mentored me without me even realizing what she was doing. She was a true prayer warrior and sweet as could be. Our tree even displays a sock left behind by one of our son’s friends who we love like family.
The most precious ornaments on our tree are the ones that my children made. Some are made with their hand prints. Others are decorated with their photos or precious notes.
Every single ornament on our tree has a special meaning, and Christmas time is a good time to remember the special events and the people who have touched our lives. For it is through the special moments that we can see how God has been at work in our lives and through the people who are dear to us that we can experience God’s love for us.
So, for at least another year, our tree stands tall in the corner. For at least another year I look at the ornaments and remember the people who helped God shape me. For at least another year, I see the bright lights in the darkness reminding me of Jesus, the Light of the World who came to take away my sin and give me peace with God.