Love in a Box

John, Allison and Teona Put up the Tree

December 2010

Luke 2:10 KJV
"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."

Russell climbed up the ladder leading to the attic hunting for boxes. THE BOXES. The ones we pack with love and care each January as we put up Christmas decorations for another year.

"Careful, Russell--I think that's the box with the glass ornaments," I advise as I hand a box to Allison in our fireman's bucket brigade of passing boxes to each other and placing them in the house.

"Lights!" he cautions as he hands me a bag.

"Inside or outside?" I ask as if I am an expert on lights.

"I don't know," he explains, "We'll have to test them all anyway."

Okay. Shows what a novice I am at this. He's been testing lights for probably twenty years as he helped John each Christmas.  My job has always been to stay out of the way and not step on the strands of lights as they are spread throughout the house from our electrical sockets.

He finally reached the large box we'd been looking for. The Christmas Tree.  Allison has impatiently waited for this moment.  She's already turned on Christmas music and is ready to put the tree together.  Some years we get a real tree, but this year we're using the one we have.

Once the tree is up, shaped and has fallen out a bit, John's mom and Allison will start hanging lights and the ornaments. Most of our ornaments have a story behind them, including a red glass bulb with "Merry Christmas" written on it from the 1950s. 

It was John's favorite childhood ornament, and he insisted on hanging it every year on the tree.  Several years ago, we had a live tree that shifted in its stand, which caused it to lean and crash.  Glass ornaments shattered, including John's childhood favorite.

He has a sentimental heart, and it was emotional to see the old ornament shattered.  I felt terrible for him, so I hatched a plan.  I searched for six months online until I found the same ornament for sale with the original set it had belonged to.  I bought it for him in July that year and kept it a secret until Christmas. He was amazed I had gone to that kind of trouble for him. Each year now we hang the replacement ornament on the tree and put the shattered fragment of the original on the fireplace mantle.

This is Christmas for me. The shared family experiences. The love.  The homemade ornaments from school that have held together for two decades or more.

Our boxes stored in the attic each  year are overflowing with memories of love.

This Christmas we may not have as many presents under the tree, but we'll have an abundance of love in our home.
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Thank you, Lord, for this time of year when we celebrate the birth of your son.

Peace, Love and a Merry Christmas