11-30-2020
Finally, the carryall and hard top were on the Jeep. It took all morning to switch from autumn's soft top to winter ready. Our life in Missouri allows us to fully enjoy driving in each season and having a vehicle that can adapt to various weather. Today was the kick-off for Christmas… time to cut down our tree!
There isn’t enough room for us all in the Jeep with my husband, so we piled the kids in the van with me and our coats. The predicted temperature was 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit. Walking around a forest in the sun would make us warmer, but being out for a long time in shady or windy areas would make us cooler. An easy extra layer was the choice I made.
In years past, it's been snowy, hot, muddy, or even icy on the day we've been able to go get our tree even though we always go the weekend after Thanksgiving. We've worn short sleeve tees or hats and gloves. I've carried babies in a sling several times, but this year they can all walk.
We walked a lot!
First, we had to park away from the barn and away from the parking lot and away from the driveway. We managed to find a spot about 15 cars down on the side of the narrow country road. We then visited four different tree sections trying to find a perfect Christmas tree. The problem was that there is no perfect tree.
The evergreen forest was full of stumps, newly planted trees, ones with obvious dead spots that had been painted, others with gaping holes, some too short or too tall, and an almost perfect one that didn’t have a top. Eventually, we picked out a five and a half foot tall Virginia Pine which is a little small for our home, doesn’t have that strong forest smell we love, and the branches are flimsy (not great for lights or ornaments). However, it looks very fancy, it isn’t crooked, it has a top and no serious empty or dead spots, and best of all, we all agreed to pick it.
There was once another group of people who walked a lot, looked for something perfect, and gained traditions from it. The Isrealites set up entire feasts to remind the following generations about how God saved them from Egypt and provided for them in the desert. They wandered for 40 years with Moses waiting for God to bring them into their promised land.
These traditions we have may be unpleasant at times, but they hold our families together with the tight bond of recurring memories. I’m sure the Isrealites had to deal with whiny kids, tired and hurt feet, crazy weather, the pain of cutting down and carrying heavy loads, and being disappointed with not finding perfect.
But there’s hope.
We hoped for a tree, and they hoped for a land. Our true hope can only be in Jesus who saves us from sin and takes us to heaven.
I’m glad we went out searching for a Christmas tree and brought it back to decorate our home. Now, my children will be able to look back and remember growing up together with their loving family. This year, they’ll think about one kid crawling around the forest, walking a lot, everyone getting a turn to use the saw, everyone carrying the freshly cut tree to the barn, picking out new ornaments, and making the imperfect tree a part of our beautiful home.
Next year, we will celebrate by doing the same thing again. We will tell stories of the past Christmas trees and ornaments and share our special memories with each other to strengthen our family bond even more.
Exodus 16: 35 “The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan.”
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