Dear Reader:

The Christmas Tree is trimmed for another year. And even though…it may not look it in this picture…I really did “trim”  down the amount of ornaments hung on it.

I immediately emailed Gloria Houston…. author of The Perfect Christmas Tree (my family’s favorite Christmas story) because it is Ruthie, the main character/angel, who sits atop my tree each year.

In 2008 I told this story at the annual District Office Christmas luncheon. Soon after I got a call from the beloved receptionist there (at the time) telling me about Gloria Houston’s home (near Spruce Pine, NC) and the project to keep her Christmas story alive in her hometown.

Honey and I immediately packed up, even with a snow storm that went through the day before and headed on a great adventure…to follow the steps of Ruthie and her mother to find the ‘Perfect Christmas Tree.’

It is still one of my fondest memories…thank you Honey for completing my Lewis and Clark expedition. I left a letter to Gloria at the inn where we stayed since the receptionist told me she stopped by there when she was in town.

About a month later I got a letter from her inviting me to come to her mother Ruthie’s 95th birthday party in Waynesville, NC. Honey couldn’t go…but Brooke jumped on board…and another memorable adventure was created. It was at the party that I got my book signed by both Gloria and the main character…her mother…Ruthie.

When I emailed Gloria last year…Ruthie was very frail…but the whole town was hoping and praying she would make it to her 100th birthday in March. A hugh town celebration was planned.

Gloria let me know later that Ruthie didn’t make it ’til her birthday but the angels celebrated with her, instead. So having Ruthie, the angel, on top of my tree each year is very special.

Over the years I have told many Christmas tree stories…the perfect ones and the imperfect ones…and I have loved them all. Then yesterday I came across a true story of a lone Christmas tree….told by Charles Kuralt through his popular television series (and later book)…“On the Road.”

While traveling America’ back roads one year he discovered the story behind a tree adopted (by motorists driving by and local townspeople) as their beloved annual Christmas tree.

The strange thing about this tree, that caught one’s attention immediately, was that it grew on the high plateau of the Rockies where neither weather conditions nor soil were conducive to sustainability of life.

Yet it lived….and was considered something of a miracle to the people who took the time to stop and pull over to marvel at this miracle of nature in their midst.

The tree was a juniper and grew beside U.S. 50 all by itself…there was not another tree for miles. Nobody remembers, today, who put the first Christmas tree ornament on it, perhaps a motorist just passing by on a whimsy.

But soon after…others stopped to do the same thing and now by Christmas Day…the tree has transformed into a Christmas Tree…beloved by all who see it and understand its miracle existence.

One year it was almost bulldozed down by road workers, widening that stretch of highway…but Kuralt said something stopped them and they decided to start the widening…a few feet away…past the tree. So close to the highway now…that the trucks rattle its branches…but still it survives.

The tree’s closest town neighbors live in Grand Junction on one side and in Delta, Colorado on the other. Both towns love their tree. Each family in these towns have their own Christmas trees, of course, but it is something about this tree, who continues to live, in spite of the odds that makes it “belong to no one and yet everyone.”

Charles Kuralt finishes his Christmas tale by declaring:

” Just looking at it makes you think about how unexpected life on Earth can be. The tree is so lonely and so brave that it seems to offer courage to those who pass it-and a message. It is the Christmas message: that there is life and hope…even in a rough world.”

……………………………..

So until tomorrow…let us remember that God is found among the ordinary in extraordinary conditions…performing His miracles as we drive by.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* I asked my Sunday class, several of whom who read the blog, to participate in the “Holiday Monster” project for Christmas Eve. The idea is to draw, make, or take a picture of something that is an obstacle between ourselves and the true meaning of Christmas.

Let me share a few photos that have already come in to help anyone who might still be unsure what this is all about….

1) Linda Carson, my friend and oncology nurse, told us about this one bulb that refused to cooperate while putting up their Christmas tree…she pulled it out…something broke…and now there are no lights on the tree. She was asking for advice on how to fix it without having to re-trim it.

So the light bulb became her “Holiday Monster” this year and she sent these pictures yesterday…one darn strand…so close…so close and then the “faulty lightbulb” monster creeps into the tree! (Nothing makes us lose the “spirit” more than a bum bulb!) Too funny!

2) Brooke decided that this photo sums up her “Holiday Monster” in a nutshell…..TOO MUCH STUFF!

  Brooke has a great idea how to turn this monster into joy…..

Too much Stuff. As I pull out decorations, boxes, etc. I realize that I don’t use half of it any more. This is my holiday monster but it will soon be gone!! This is the year, yes I am sure of it.
Then I will feel great JOY because I will give most of it to a friend who can use what she can and sell the rest for much needed money.

These are two wonderful examples of Holiday Monsters….come on now…grab that camera, or paper and crayons/paints or cut out a picture from a magazine….whatever and let us know your “Holiday Monster”….All of them will be displayed and introduced in the Christmas Eve blog!

Thanks Linda and Brooke so MUCH for your “early bird” special monsters. ( But no more examples…come on everyone….we all have them hiding around us somewhere. ‘Tis the year to get rid of the “Holiday Monster”!)

* Please take a minute to get in the Christmas spirit with Libby’s little five year old granddaughter, Rebecca, who got the solo part in the children’s Christmas program…singing Happy Birthday Jesus! Too sweet! From the voice of a child…Christmas comes!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJq_uvfLAEI&feature=youtu.be