"No, life cannot be understood flat on a page. It has to be lived; a person has to get out of his head, has to fall in love, has to memorize poems, has to jump off bridges into rivers, has to stand in an empty desert and whisper sonnets under his breath... We get one story, you and I, and one story alone. God has established the elements, the setting and the climax and resolution. It would be a crime not to venture out, wouldn't it?"

--Donald Miller

O Christmas Tree

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

This past weekend I waged an epic battle with fake Christmas trees. There's nothing I enjoy better than having 7 foot Majestic pines fall on me. (And that happened a lot).

Then, on Monday I went to the shelter and they were setting up Christmas trees.

Oh joy, more trees to fall on me

We were setting up this beautiful fake fir, trying to figure out which fake branch goes where, making sure the tree didn't topple over and laughing at our pathetic Charlie Brown tree.

Then, one of the ladies from the shelter looked at us with eyes that were trying to hold back a waterfall, and had to excuse herself.

Later when she returned, she told us that it had been 5 years since she had last set up a Christmas tree

Five years since she had last had a place to stay

Five years since she last had a home

A Christmas tree doesn't just symbolize Christmas and winter joy; it symbolizes home

One must have a home to set up a tree

And for all my complaining about setting up stupid trees

I'll think about it differently next time
Posted by Stephanie Vergara at 10:21 AM
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