Christmas tree

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Christmas Tree Memories

From time to time I will repost an old article. This post is from December 2015, I hope you enjoy.

This morning I’m sitting in our family room looking at our Christmas tree. The lights from the tree and the winter village are the only lights that are on.  

Christmas tree memories

The tree lights draw my focus in and, as I sit quietly alone, I can’t help but reflect on what the tree represents. 

I know that some people say that the Christmas tree is some pagan holiday symbol that we’ve stolen and now use as a symbol of Christmas. I don’t get too hung up on that because for years we sang hymns that had stolen their tunes from old bar songs. 

It’s almost like hymn writers were the first “Weird Al Yankovic”. And if you don’t know who Weird Al is, don’t worry about it – it’s not important to my Christmas tree reflection.

To me this Christmas tree has become a burden and a blessing. And this year we decided to be done with the burden part. 

You see, for the last 30 years Lily and I have exchanged Christmas decorations, and since our kids were born they also have received decorations. So let me do a little calculating here … that works out to 110 ornaments!  

No wonder Lily sighs when she thinks about putting the decorations on the tree. But that’s nothing – our poor Christmas tree starts drooping in preparation for all that extra weight on its branches.

Let me tell you about the burden … These decorations are not just any decorations. They have to reveal something about the kind of year that person has had, or something memorable in that person’s year.

Like the year we vacationed without the kids, I got a small picture frame and added a picture of two people in beach chairs on a beach. The year the doctor told me my triglycerides were sky high, I went on a diet to get them down. Lily gave me a grapefruit ornament that said “the year of the grapefruit” to remind me of my progress. 

At first I didn’t take this ornament giving too seriously. I think for the first four Christmases I got her a red ball decoration that said “our first, second, third … Christmas together”.  

But that didn’t last. They don’t make “our 13th Christmas together” shiny hanging balls. 

There were some dark years that I had to struggle to find a theme for the year. Eventually I ended up making many of my ornaments. That in itself took a lot of work. 

It seemed sometimes that it was more work than it was worth. But on Christmas morning when Lily would open her gift, her reaction was always worth the effort I put into it.

But year after year it’s a burden, and there’s not much room on the tree anymore. I suggested that from now on we should just pick a ten year period and only put decorations up from that decade. 

She didn’t like that idea. Instead, out of the blue one day, Lily said maybe we should stop giving ornaments to each other. I jumped at the suggestion and said, “Great idea; let’s stop.” 

So I’m looking at the tree right now, with all its memories, because that’s what they are. The burden is over; I don’t have to make another ornament. But the blessing … the blessing of the memories that fill that tree will continue to bring comfort to my mind. 

Here’s the thing: Remember special times in your spiritual life, like when you accepted Christ, when you made a spiritual breakthrough, how God met a need, how He helped you at a crucial time in your life. It’s those memories that will stay present with you, and give you comfort in the years to come. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What traditions do you have that bless you with great memories? Leave your comment below.

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Is it Really Over?

Today’s post is from a guest writer, my wife. Every now and then Lily gets inspired to write a post of her own. It comes at the right time to give me a little break. Merry Christmas and enjoy.

It’s December 26th and, just like that, it’s over. 

In the last few weeks, we bought presents, baked, decorated two trees, strung lights, put up decorations, organized costumes and children programs, prepared readings, gave gifts, cooked food, planned services, set up extra beds, wrapped presents, delivered poinsettias, sang carols … and now it’s over.

Our daughter has packed up and gone home; our son will leave later today. Work is calling.

December 25th was a peaceful day. The hustle and bustle of the previous weeks stopped and we paused to gather and celebrate, eat, relax and reflect. It was Christmas. 

As I went for a walk this morning – the morning after – the neighbourhood was still fairly quiet … just a few signs of life, of people stirring after a day of quiet and peaceful celebration. 

A few cars were warming up in driveways, getting ready to take their owners back home from the holiday. Two people were out walking their dogs, getting back into routine after a day of relaxing.

But as I turned a corner, I saw a sight that stopped me in my tracks. A woman was hauling a Christmas tree out her front door. She lugged it down the driveway and heaved it into the back of a pick-up truck. And there it lay, upside-down and bare, except for one lonely piece of tinsel that stubbornly clung to one of its branches. 

I couldn’t help but notice that it was a beautiful tree. It had a perfect conical shape, and was a lovely shade of green. It still looked very much alive … and very out-of-place dumped in the back of a truck like garbage.

To think that the day before it had been the centrepiece of that home, beautifully adorned with hundreds of lights, and carefully chosen ornaments. 

And in a mere 24 hours it had gone from the home’s showpiece to a meaningless extra that was quickly discarded. 

The sight somehow made me sad. … Was it really all over that quickly? Done? Finished? Discarded for another year? … Do I already need to start packing everything away?

Christmas Day seems like a serene pause in an otherwise chaotic world. It’s the only day that seems to have that effect on our society, our world. I wish it didn’t have to end!

But does it?

Sure, the trees and decorations eventually need to come down. And yes, most of us need to return to work … and for sure all of us need to stop binging on Christmas baking.

But, when you think about it, Christmas was never meant to be a one day celebration!

Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of Jesus. In Matthew 1:20 in the Bible, it says, “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel.”

Immanuel – God with us. 

The Almighty God of the universe is with us. His appearance and presence on this earth was not a one day event. He is Immanuel, God with us … still … now.

Here’s the thing: God with us … Why would we ever want to discard that truth or even pack it up and ignore it most of the year? When you think about it, God should be the centrepiece and focus of our lives all year round, not discarded like an old Christmas tree the day after Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

Lily

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Thank Goodness The Christmas Season Has Begun

In the United States, Thanksgiving is the indicator that the Christmas season has begun. In my house it’s when the Christmas tree gets put up.

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For some people, they start to get into the Christmas spirit when Advent starts – the four weeks when we anticipate the coming of Christ into the world. In churches a candle is lit, scripture is read and someone says something about the signs that Christ was coming.

Some people get into the Christmas spirit when they see snow on the ground. In some places that happens pretty early in the fall.

Others have that Christmas spirit for most of at least half the year. They start their Christmas shopping then too.

But honestly, I don’t think that any of that is really the Christmas spirit. They’re all just things we attach to a time of year. We like tradition.

Memories are powerful so when we see, hear, smell or touch something that brings back a memory, we relive that event. We can see it again in our mind and it brings some great emotions with it.

So the Christmas spirit has more to do with our memories and our emotions than it has to do with the coming of Christ.

All the generosity and kindness and brotherly love, it probably has its root in our feelings and not in the fact that Christ has come to save mankind.

Maybe the Christmas spirit has nothing to do with Christmas. Maybe we don’t need Christmas at all to experience all the good cheer we have at this time of year.

… Well, before we go too far down that road, we should investigate the real reason we have the kinds of memories we have at this time of year.

It’s this time of year that we identify as the time that God sent his Son to earth. That’s a pretty big deal in itself but not an incredibly emotional, memory-producing event.

What does create the emotional memory is why God sent Christ to us. God sent Christ to us as a gift to save us.

Down through the years people have received this gift of Christ and have been saved from their sins.

So when the time of year comes around when we remember Christ’s coming to us, the memories of the gift of Christ have brought all kinds of warm emotions that have resulted in expressions to others of generosity, kindness and brotherly love.

In our time, we have focussed more on the memory of the caring acts and so we respond in kind.

We attach the memories more to presents, festive happy gatherings, and acts of kindness to one another … but that is pretty superficial and temporal.

The real Christmas spirit should come when we realize that Christ is God’s gift to me, and that by receiving this gift I am forgiven of my sin.

That’s the real Christmas spirit. And that can influence your life and actions all year long. So actually, the Christmas spirit is not part of a season but part of who you are.

Here’s the thing: God sent His gift. If you’ve received this gift, then act like every day is Christmas. If you haven’t received the gift of Christ, do it now . . . Christmas is coming!

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What gets you thinking about Christmas? Leave your comments below.

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Christmas Tree Memories

This morning I’m sitting in our family room looking at our Christmas tree. The lights from the tree and the winter village are the only lights that are on.

IMG_4090

The tree lights draw my focus in and, as I sit quietly alone, I can’t help but reflect on what the tree represents.

I know that some people say that the Christmas tree is some pagan holiday symbol that we’ve stolen and now use as a symbol of Christmas. I don’t get too hung up on that because for years we sang hymns that had stolen their tunes from old bar songs.

It’s almost like hymn writers were the first “Weird Al Yankovic”. And if you don’t know who Weird Al is, don’t worry about it – it’s not important to my Christmas tree reflection.

To me this Christmas tree has become a burden and a blessing. And this year we decided to be done with the burden part.

You see, for the last 30 years Lily and I have exchanged Christmas decorations, and since our kids were born they also have received decorations. So let me do a little calculating here … that works out to 110 ornaments!

No wonder Lily sighs when she thinks about putting the decorations on the tree. But that’s nothing – our poor Christmas tree starts drooping in preparation for all that extra weight on its branches.

Let me tell you about the burden … These decorations are not just any decorations. They have to reveal something about the kind of year that person has had, or something memorable in that person’s year.

Like the year we vacationed without the kids, I got a small picture frame and added a picture of two people in beach chairs on a beach. The year the doctor told me my triglycerides were sky high, I went on a diet to get them down. Lily gave me a grapefruit ornament that said “the year of the grapefruit” to remind me of my progress.

At first I didn’t take this ornament giving too seriously. I think for the first four Christmases I got her a red ball decoration that said “our first, second, third … Christmas together”.

But that didn’t last. They don’t make “our 13th Christmas together” shiny hanging balls.

There were some dark years that I had to struggle to find a theme for the year. Eventually I ended up making many of my ornaments. That in itself took a lot of work.

It seemed sometimes that it was more work than it was worth. But on Christmas morning when Lily would open her gift, her reaction was always worth the effort I put into it.

But year after year it’s a burden, and there’s not much room on the tree anymore. I suggested that from now on we should just pick a ten year period and only put decorations up from that decade.

She didn’t like that idea. Instead, out of the blue one day, Lily said maybe we should stop giving ornaments to each other. I jumped at the suggestion and said, “Great idea; let’s stop.”

So I’m looking at the tree right now, with all its memories, because that’s what they are. The burden is over; I don’t have to make another ornament. But the blessing … the blessing of the memories that fill that tree will continue to bring comfort to my mind.

Here’s the thing: Remember special times in your spiritual life, like when you accepted Christ, when you made a spiritual breakthrough, how God met a need, how He helped you at a crucial time in your life. It’s those memories that will stay present with you, and give you comfort in the years to come.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What traditions do you have that bless you with great memories? Leave your comment below.