I asked.

How do you decorate a Christmas tree without it looking like you have twelve years of different fads hanging on boughs?

She answered.

A Guest Post

by Karyl Horn

We are that family.  

We have a skinny, pre-lit tree that we dutifully set up each year.  Unfortunately, a section of the pre-lit lights has gone out.  And I mean GONE OUT.  We have pulled every bulb in a futile attempt to resurrect the missing lights, but to no avail.  And, of course, the section that has gone out is in the MIDDLE.  So each year, we put the tree together and then add a string of colorful lights to the middle.  Crazy…I know.  I decided this year that we would replace this pitiful tree however EVERY skinny tree I find only has clear lights – no color!  We just can’t do that.  MUST. HAVE. COLOR.

After rigging our tree into a usable state, we begin the journey through life that our decorations represent.  Whether a star that we found somewhere on a family trip or a colored handprint on a simple string that one of the ladies at church made with one of the boys when they were young – they ALL go on the tree.  Now keep in mind…this is a skinny tree for a reason.  We don’t have a huge den and we like to be able to see our tree at night, so it must go in the den.  We tried one of those great big trees long ago, but after having to relocate most of the furniture in the room to another location in the house - just to get the tree in place - we changed to the skinny model and haven’t looked back. But, I digress…on to the ornaments…so many ornaments…

We have had the blessing to know a sweet young lady that for many, many, years gave us “family” ornaments each Christmas.  We have everything from a fireplace with stockings to a family of teddy bears.  Each one special in its own way and each one personalized with our individual names and/or family name.  There are so many of them that they cover the top layers of two large boxes!  Year after year, it became a guessing game of what she would find and every time it was a joy to gather together and open up the box.

And then it happened.

Our sweet friend became ill and – before we could even take in the seriousness of her illness – she was gone.  It was November, right before Thanksgiving.  And then as the weeks progressed, we came to Christmas - a time we always enjoyed with her.  How were we going to do this?  We were barely learning life without her.

To try and move us in a healing direction, I asked my husband to get the tree out.  He dutifully pulled it out, rigged the extra string of lights, and had it standing in its appointed spot.  And then came in the boxes of ornaments…and we couldn’t open them.  We knew that the top layers of those boxes held all the years with our sweet friend – each one a memory of its own. What I thought would be a help for our family’s grief became a glaring reminder of the loss.  And so, we took the boxes back to our garage.

A beautiful thing happened that evening.  While sitting, staring at our bare tree, watching the lights twinkle within the branches, I noticed something glimmering.  It was a snowflake – a single, clear hard plastic snowflake that my mom had given me years earlier.  Where did it come from?  No clue.  (Obviously our ability at taking ornaments off of a tree pale in comparison to our ability to slather them on.)  Seeing that snowflake was a comfort as my mom had passed away just a few years earlier.  It was a dear reminder of all the times we had celebrated Christmas together.  It was in that moment that I realized we didn’t need to be afraid that the ornaments in the boxes would make our grief harder to bear.  Rather, they were going to serve to help us remember the moments, the times together and all of the joy we had shared with our dear friend.

No, we didn’t go running to the garage to grab the ornament boxes.  We let them sit out that year, much to the dismay of another dear friend.  She couldn’t bear the fact that we didn’t have ornaments and ended up leaving a large case of them on our doorstep.  This becomes more intriguing when you learn that she allowed two of her young adult children to pick them out.

 

They were SPARKLY.

And GREEN.

And ZEBRA striped.
That just makes me smile thinking about it.  Of course, we put them on the tree.  That year and the next.

Proverbs 17:17 –“A friend loves at all times…”

 

This is the year though.  I have already announced to the family that we will be unboxing all of our ornaments.  ALL OF THEM.  Our tree this year will be a journey like never before.  It will contain the memories of our children growing up, all of the fads that have come with the seasons of our lives, the many years we had with our friend Crystal, and the intermingling of sparkly, green and zebra striped ornaments…all overflowing with love.

Oh – and my mom’s snowflake will be there too.

Now go decorate your tree…and use EVERYTHING!

About Karyl:

Karyl is probably the most-level-headed person I know; just the kind of friend a girl needs in her life.  Her boy and mine have conquered many worlds together through the years via gaming.  I treasure their friendship and I treasure mine with Karyl.  Calm and sure-footed, she's such a woman. She's a led by the spirit kind of lady.  Besides all that she's crazy about Jesus.

If you'd like to write a guest post for my Christmas Writing Wish, send it on over to:

kristiburden@gmail.com

You'll be glad you did.  I'll be even gladder.