Your Christmas Tree is Coming!

A couple of weeks ago I followed a few trucks headed through town that were loaded with fragrant Christmas trees. Each tree was bundled to protect its branches. “I wonder where these trees are headed. What delights will those branches hold?” I knew that each tree was about to be the center of a story; a story that for some would live through generations, while others would be forgotten when the last ornament was removed from it’s brittle branch.


As a birthday cake is to our own birthday party, the Christmas tree is to Christ’s birthday festivities. It is the centerpiece of the celebration around the world, adding a glow to the room and the heart.
Living on part of an old Christmas tree farm and in the area that grows more Christmas trees than anywhere in the world, I get a sneak preview of Christmas in late October as helicopters fly over the house on their way to load trucks with the fragrant firs and pines. Anticipation of the holiday swells as truck after truck head through our little town with the precious Christmas cargo.

Spiced cider and Christmas carols have already made their way into my studio and tomorrow I plan to go to the opening of my favorite holiday craft show, “Christmas in the Country.” I can’t wait!

You may be thinking,

“Thanksgiving is a couple weeks away, yet.” You are so right; isn’t it a wonderful time of year? It used to bother me that Thanksgiving was overshadowed by Christmas. Not any more. I ignore the tasteless music on the grocer’s intercom as I hum my favorite carols while searching for ornaments that reflect Christ, family and friends. Thanksgiving and Christmas have a blurred line as I thank the Lord for the grace and blessings he has given me. I enjoy celebrating from the first tree I see swinging through the air from a helicopter in October through the New Year when I am reminded that every day I have peace, hope and joy because of what happened long ago on Christmas Day. I’ve learned to sort out the materialistic and tacky and keep the worship and joy in my heart and soul.

Christ is the center, the reason, the celebration. And, what a grand celebration it should be.