Oh, Christmas Tree

From "Thoughts of Advent"
December 14, 1984
Scripture:  Isaiah 61: 3-4, 11

When our children were younger and our yards were bare, we decided to have living Christmas trees to plant and enjoy for many years.  It seemed the perfect solution for my allergy to cut trees, for our lack of trees in the yard, and for the problems of toddlers grabbing at tottering, towering, dried out trees laden with ornaments.  Also, it was in keeping with my fundamental belief in conservation and recycling.



Our first tree is flourishing in Pittsburgh, and four out of five are here in St. Louis.  (We lost one to high winds a year and a half after it was planted.) Although some say we were "lucky," we just followed a few simple rules:  keep the tree in the garage until a week before Christmas; dig your hole early and bring the dirt into the basement.; keep the tree moist and the rootball wrapped in plastic.  Finally, take the tree down a few days after Christmas.  After the tree has spent a few more days in the garage, plant it.

Then, the children and I would decorate it again---this time for the birds---with popcorn, cups of suet, strings of Cheerios, and pinecones dipped in grease and seeds.

This custom is not just a daily reminder of Christmases past, but also a reminder that we were created to be God's caretakers--to nurture the trees and to feed the animals.

Tree update---30 years later, we still have two of our living Christmas trees, one of which towers over our home!