The Tree
It is now the week of Christmas. Friends have been
asking me what we have done to prepare our home for Christmas. I would like to
share some of our new traditions in hopes they will help you during this bitter
sweet time of the year.
It took two weeks to get our tree up and decorated because
of our schedules but it now has a prominent place in our living room. It is
adorned with glass heirloom ornaments and new sparkly ones. We have the
handmade ornaments with pictures of the kids growing up and ones bought on
family vacations to spark memories. The new tradition we brought to our tree
are ornaments which represent each of our loved ones who are spending Christmas
with Jesus. Josh has a soldier, Beth a snowboarder, and Chris has two – a
camping tent and snowboard boot. When we hung these we told stories and shed a
few tears. They are with us in our hearts as we look at our tree.
There are a myriad of stories depicting where the tradition
of the Christmas tree began but I am taking the one our pastor told us as our
own. The Vikings saw the evergreen tree as a symbol of strength. It survived the
long, dark, cold winters. They brought this reminder into their homes. When
things got really tough and they felt as though they couldn’t survive they
would see the tree and remember to be strong.
What a great symbol for us who celebrate a ‘blue’ Christmas.
Grief is similar to winter because it too is long, dark, and cold but God wants
us to remember He is with us. Through Him we can be “strong and courageous’
(Joshua 1:9) while leaning on Christ. One reason He came was to “bind up the
brokenhearted”. May you feel God’s strength wrapped around you this Christmas
season.
What did you do differently with your Christmas tree to
remember your loved one this year?
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