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“The Baby brought us a great gift: love, forgiveness and peace with God.

Let us receive the Gift with gladness.”

Amen, exit!

(Disclaimer: I didn’t plan to write so much. It just happened! :-)

This Christmas morning I’m sitting in the living room having coffee and enjoying three Christmas trees. The largest is beautiful, flocked, and full-size. It’s illuminated with warm white lights and a Bethlehem style star on top. It’s is decorated in gold, silver, and red with clear glass icicles. There are two red cardinals at the top near the star, reminders of two dear, close friends who died this year. This tree is a reminder of the Awe and Beauty of Christmas. Christ broke into our world and came to live among us in order to save us. Can we ever fathom the depth of God’s love for us? I can’t. It’s too much to bear, in a good way.

The second Christmas tree is a skinny “pole pine” which was the Christmas tree in our Colorado cottage because there was no room for a full size tree. It isn’t flocked and one might wonder how the two trees happened so close together. The answer, of course, is climate change. ;-) This year the pole pine has its usual star at the top and is decorated whimsically, with a string of bell-shaped multi-color lights which flash in rhythm with the Christmas carols belted out from the attached green plastic box, lots of randomly wrapped sparkly red, green, and gold ribbon, fat acrylic icicles, and large glitter-covered gold snowflakes. There are a few ornaments, the kind that evoke either a smile or a raised eyebrow. Among them are a parachutist Santa falling from the bottom branches, a squirrel flying an airplane, and a weird yarn needlepoint bird head with wiggly eyes that you can squeeze to open his beak. Over the years I’ve found that he has a penchant for peanuts, sometimes last year’s peanuts. This tree reminds me of the importance of laughter and joy, especially during trying times.

The third Christmas tree is made of gold tinsel and stands about a foot tall on a side table. It is happily decked in a tiny string of white lights and an old set of the cheapest red felt-covered dollar store ornaments I could find at the time. Teetering on top is a three-inch angel who’s wearing a gold dress and holding a twinkle light candle. God sent angels with the message of Christ’s birth to poor shepherds. This was my Christmas tree when I was going through the hardest time of my life. Tree number three reminds me of the value of being loved and of the great importance of humility. This tiny tree can and does hold a candle to the gorgeous tree across the room.

Awe, laughter, and humility: gifts from God to help us to grow close to Him and to be able to share His love with others.

My gratitude is overflowing.

Finally, this Christmas feels like it is especially graced, and the following scripture is on my heart this Christmas morning so I’ll share:

Luke 6:37-38

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you give back.”

May God continue to bless all of us, my Dear Trump Train Family!!