Wednesday, December 19, 2012

O Christmas Tree!



Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.  Zechariah 4:6b (KJV)

The year that the young adult fellowship Christmas party was held at my apartment marks my first experience buying a Christmas tree. Driving the tree home and dragging it up three flights of stairs was challenging, but putting it up was just plain crazy—especially because the stores had sold out of stands.

The tree wobbled some in the crock pot, but the sneakers and flip-flops stuffed around it kept it standing—for a minute. A paperback book, a few wooden spoons, and some rolled socks joined everything else in the crock pot, but the tree fell again and again. Finally, though it looked a bit odd with numerous strings tied to the top of the tree and mounds of masking tape securing taut strings to the ceiling, the tree was up and decorated.

We had a fun night at the party, but near the end of the evening one of the guests accidentally brushed against the tree, and down it went with the decorations, the string, and the tape.

“I could have brought you an extra stand from my house,” he said.

At times it seems like pieces of our lives fall down around us like that tree. We do everything in our power to get things to stand in place. Just when we think we have it together, something else happens and we try this and that to somehow make things work. All the while, the Lord waits for us to ask Him for help.

Lord, help me remember that I do not have to count on my strength for big or small things. Help me to count on your power to keep my life together. Amen.

© 2012 Nance

1 comment:

Evelyn R. said...

Nance, I know the pain attached to a memory like this one. But, in the end it would have been a memory that is one of the fondest of our youth. It is what memories are made of in the first place. God be with you, always. Evelyn R.