Joy to the World… ?

O come All Ye Faithful…  Away in a Manger… Go Tell it on the Mountain… Silent Night…

It’s that time of year.  We make plans to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior; we plan a menu; we wrap the gifts; we even invite guests to the party.  Well, we usually do…

Sure, this year, the party looks different from the celebrations in the past.  However, I have still planned the menu.  I am still baking the cake.  I am still wrapping the gifts.  I am still singing the carols.  Yet, it all looks different. 

Then it occurs to me that, for some, this is “normal.”  For some, it is an annual party of one.  For others, there may be fewer gifts under the tree and fewer Christmas cards in the mailbox.  “Silent Night”
 may be a daily occurrence, not exclusive to this day of the year.

I see you.  I hear you.  I pray for you.

This year just had to be merrier for me, just had to be brighter, and just had to BE better than the preceding days of 2020…  I was desperate for JOY… Soo, off to the Christmas tree farm we went.  As any good Griswold would, I envisioned the BEST TREE EVER glowing in my sunroom.  We even removed the furniture for such a homecoming.  Yes, this year would be different.  Better.  Best.  Like a giant metaphoric middle finger to 2020, we WOULD have a merry and bright holiday season.

There she was.  In all of her 11 feet glory.  The heavens parted and the angels sang… and the three boys I live with rolled their eyes.  I staked my claim on her amongst the other families looking for their perfect tree…My husband got the saw and the two boys each took a turn.  I stood in admiration, smiling at the love my family clearly has of me.  Ahhhh, this was our tree.  My teenager took the reigns and finished off the fall.  Atop the car she went, and we fa-la-la-la-la’d the entire way home. 

Now, the real fun begins… the choice words, the needles falling, the vacuum humming, the chandelier crystals swinging after the top of the glorious tree brushed past.  And then, voila, there she stood… Victory, Glory to the World…

Now, it is a known fact in my home that once that tree is safely in its stand, everyone must step aside.  I cannot be messed with until she is lit and decorated.  As if this mom is invisible, I proceed unbothered by the boys… in my happy place.   Focused in on each, and every, ornament from memories and places we have traveled, I wander through the decorating smiling and content.

The universe, however, had different plans for me this year.  This, “had to have a ginormous tree to compensate for this $#*++^ year” momma found herself atop a ladder bracing against the wall just to reach the top.  I felt unsteady.  I enlisted the help I fought so hard to push aside every year.  “Come hold the ladder so I don’t fall!” Everyone took a turn; and I could feel their eyes rolling as they watched me climb the rungs. 

There she stood, keeping me company with her glow quietly each morning over coffee.  Occasionally, we would even sit together in the early darkness of the winter with a glass of wine.  Ahhhh, I got my tree.

I was quickly brought back to earth one morning as I reveled at her beauty.  I was taking in the ornaments, and each memory it held.  Sitting, staring, loving her…

When in front of my eyes “there arose such a clatter”… I stood from my chair and saw “what was the matter.” 

There she went.  Falling slowly before me.  I could not react.  I just froze and watched her fall. 

In mangles and shatters, my beloved ornaments helplessly lay under her branches.  The chandelier crystals swayed.  My family came running.  I stood still.

“Hi, this is Jesus.  I would like to take a moment here to remind you of the meaning of the season…”

“Oh, hey there, Jesus. Of course! My bad.”

A sudden calm came over me as I enlisted the help of the same three boys to lift her back onto her stand.  Since the timing was such that I had literally five minutes before I was to leave to take my son to school, I scooped up the fragments of lost ornaments and put them in a chair.   One last look over my shoulder as I headed out, taking stock of which ones were lost.

Later that day, we figured out that we needed a bigger stand.  No tree would last without a sturdy foundation.  Just as our walk with Christ is our foundation; without Him, we fall.  It took a couple of hand weights and a kettle bell, but we reinforced that foundation.  I humbly prayed that she would stand until Christmas.  I am here on the Eve… the night in the manger… and she is still standing. 

That’s the thing here, folks.  The takeaway, if you will…

Branches can break, ornaments can shatter… but I am reminded that the party goes on.  The gathering looks different. The gifts may be crushed (or in my case, drenched with tree-stand water), but we still get the gift of celebrating Him.

The guest of honor is not Santa Claus, or elves on the shelves… it is not me… it is not us…It is our Lord and Savior.  O Come Let Us Adore Him…

Happy Birthday, Jesus.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.  Luke 2:14

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