The Lights on the Tree, Among Other Things

Today was the first time in a long time that I just could not get moving. I am fighting an upper respiratory “something” and probably need to go to the doctor. But, thanks to two insurance companies fighting over who “owns” me, I essentially do not have any insurance! So today, I “took a day.” I stayed in my jammies, hung out in my recliner and watched Christmas movies all day. It is the time of year, you know! There might have also been a tiny bit of frustration and feeling a little bit sorry for myself and for some things that I no longer have or am able to do. That is another story for another day though!

Before I get into the “tree lights” blog for today, I wanted to share about another “light” thing.  I received a text this morning from a dear friend that I do not get to see or talk to as often as I would like.  She definitely brightened up my day!  We used to get to spend a lot of time together, but have both moved on to different experiences and do not see each other except occasionally. Her text was that she’d been at a weird place with lots going on and she found this song on her playlist that I’d used in relation to a talk I gave a few years ago. She said it had brightened her day and she had the song on repeat. She said she always thinks of me when she hears it and she just wanted to let me know. She did, definitely, bless my socks off today.

Here is a link to the song. It is titled “This Little Light of Mine,” and is by the group, Addison Road. It is one of my favorite songs. The message is simple but quite powerful. It talks about the ups and downs we will have in life and how we should approach life with the innocence of a child and remember that we belong to Christ through it all and we need to be the light and let His light shine through us. It is well worth a listen.

OK, so back to the blog for the week. Yes, I had a long day of lazing around, watching Christmas movies and spending a lot of time gazing at the Christmas tree and the lights that cover most every branch. This is the “family” Christmas tree that has been over sixty one years in the making. It contains ornaments all the way back from when my parents were first married.

My mom and dad decorated the Christmas tree until I was seven years old. That is when my dad and I started decorating the tree together. Then, sometime in my middle teen years, the Christmas tree became my thing. Back in those early days it was all about the garland and tinsel. Once I was broken from icicles (which was quite traumatic, as I put them on and placed each one gingerly and lovingly,) I noticed that you could actually see the individual ornaments. So, now-a-days, there is no garland or icicles and those ornaments, old and new, store bought and hand made, silly and serious, tucked over and around the many lights all come together to form something more than a Christmas tree. It is a memory tree!

Most every ornament, that has been lovingly placed on this tree, has a specific memory attached to it. From the gold, red, green and white star at the top of the tree (that was bought the year we moved to Kentucky because the angel stopped working,) to the ugly plastic bells, which are my priceless treasures (that were part of my parent’s first Christmas tree,) to the rocking horses (acquired when we first moved to Tennessee) and twelve days of Christmas globes at the bottom of the tree (that were purchased by a friend), they are all part of the story of this tree and the story of the life of our family.

No, as a family, we are not together the same as we used to be; but those ornaments on that tree still have the power to evoke an instantaneous flood of memory and emotion and it is like we are all sitting around the tree on one of those way-gone days and feeling the joy that is Christmas.

I could go on and on and tell story after story about the ornaments, keepsakes, memories on this tree, but I won’t. I will just say that each time I gaze at the sparkly, seasonal visitor in our family room, I am taken back to special memories and moments that have made up my life.

I hope that you, too, have something special in your life that is able to make you feel all happy and warm and loved when you are in its presence.

I want to wish you you a wonderful, and blessed holiday season and hope that you will take some time during these hectic days to just sit still and allow long forgotten memories to roll in and all around you. Also, take some time to read the Christmas story from the Bible. For this, truly, is the reason for the season we are in now.

Merry Christmas and God Bless you!

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“Every gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

James 1:17