Sunday, December 18, 2011

Redemption From the Pile


     The pine trees outside my dining window were much easier to decorate 10 years ago.  Since they are now so large I thought that I would just hang lights on one of them. I had a pile of odd  lights that I thought might make a nice Christmas menagerie on a tree.  I spent an hour just before sundown untangling and hanging these half-working lights- overlapping the dead spots with the hanging icicle type mixed with the net type.  As twilight approached I could see more clearly, ironically, how awful the project was looking.  I decided to scrap it entirely and focus on something more manageable, and quickly, before my fingers froze off.
   I found an old fake tree with no stand, that sat dangerously close to the trash barrel.  I reshaped it's mangled wire branches, draped the mess of lights on it and bungee strapped it to deck railing.  It shone super bright in the darkness next to my Adirondack chair and made me smile. Redemption from the messy piles - I think that's what Christmas is all about.                                                                     


  On an even brighter note, here is a picture taken during some Christmas shopping time with the boys.  This has been one of the highlights of the Christmas season so far for me - these guys are so awesome!  It gets me thinking that this is just a fraction of how God feels about me.   And that's why He sent Christ to rescue me. To rescue all of us.
   Merry Christmas!!!