Our First Christmas Tree

On Sunday, December 4th, we got bundled up and drove about 45 minutes west of Lacombe. We asked a friend who lives on a farm and has a quarter section of land if we could go out with their family when they went to find their Christmas tree. They told us we were more than welcome and so we met up with them later that afternoon.

It was the perfect day to find a Christmas tree. It started to snow as we drove out but it wasn't too COLD. When we walked through the trees everything crunched beneath our feet. The trees looked beautiful with a layer of snow on their branches. Marco was the one who found our tree. He knew the tall, full tree would look beautiful in our apartment. We didn't have to look any farther.

We loaded it into the truck and we were so excited to get it home to start decorating for Christmas. The hard part was waiting for it to thaw out. A while later Marco brought it up four flights of stairs :) and set it in the stand. While I got the decorations out, he started putting on the lights. I'm not a big fan of garland so I found some silver ribbon to weave through the branches.

I guess you could say we were double blessed this year because we got to decorate our tree twice. Thursday morning that week, I woke up to a huge crash. I jumped out of bed and ran into the livingroom where our tree lay on the floor. It was a really hard morning! I cried because there were special decorations that my Mom and friends had given to us that were shattered. There was a nativity scene that I had bought specifically for our first Christmas and it was also on the floor in a million pieces.

Over the next few days, with the tree propped in the corner waiting to be re-decorated, I had a lot of time to think. My thoughts were all over the place. At times I was disappointed and hurt that it happened on our first Christmas. Other times I was disappointed in myself; it was trivial to care so much about a tree, decorations, and memories. Overall, I learned in a new way what Christmas is all about. It isn't about decorations, lights, ribbons, trees, and little gifts. It is about the wonder of God's gift to us in Jesus. He is our Saviour, Redeemer, and King!

After doing the dishes at night, I enjoy sitting in a chair next to the tree and watching the lights twinkle in the dark. Because it is a real tree, the fresh outside smell fills the whole apartment. It is decorated mostly in blue, silver, and white with lots of snowflakes. How lovely and beautiful are it's branches!