Bill called: "Let's go cut a tree in the woods." Because he was a good friend, I said yes. Not that I WANTED to go, because I had had my fill of scrawny, apologetic Christmas trees, taken in from the woods just because they were free. Or so we thought!
So the four of us went out east of Marshall on Highway 80, made a left turn, and drove through a broken-down gate. A two-track, never maintained road through the deep grasses, into the trees.
I knew this was different when we went past a 9 foot globe of a pyracantha, then past a huge mound of an untrimmed holly tree, and into the evergreens. Years before, Alcoa had bought the place, then built a plant on the other side of the farm road, and left this side abandoned. Once a fine tree farm and nursery, it had been left untended more than a decade.
We got out of the truck in an area of enormous blue spruce trees. Bill picked one out to fit the high ceilings in his den, and began cutting a 15 foot beauty. I picked a smaller one. As soon as the saw began to cut, the sweet magnificent aroma of the spruce was there, new to me and so impressive.
Back home, there was a trip to get a larger stand, preparing the tree, and setting it up. It was more than enough for our small den, and the aroma was so full and rich in there. There I stood looking at the most beautiful Christmas tree I had ever had, and realized that the unexpected beauty was something my negative attitude had not really deserved!
There never has been a more beautiful tree in our house, and we have never forgotten that one of the beauties of Christmas is the unexpected joyfulness of the surprises. When God's greatest gift spins off unexpected new gifts in surprising ways, Christmas gains a freshness, a today-ness, that is a magnificent blessing.
May you discover this year's unexpected Christmas surprise that God uses to freshen the miracle right inside your heart! Jesus' birth is an old story; let God make it fresh within you; be looking!
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