Lean if You Need to

Merry 3rd day of Christmas. Perhaps, like the star atop our tree, you’re knocked sideways, holding tight but barely.

I love our tree, the little fire stove pumping heat next to it, looking out over the quiet carpet of white stretching under the pines behind our house. But this tree’s a quirkster. We cut it because it was the right height and velvety soft, a Michigan fir. But we’ve turned it and twisted it, screwed and re-screwed the base bolts so many times. It leaned to the right. When we fixed that, it leaned left. We straightened it again, and it dipped forward.

Miska finally said, “Well, I think that’s what we have this year.” We chalked it up to 2020 and embraced our little holiday tower of Pisa. And our tilting star. It’s cute, but the Magnolia folks aren’t heading our way for a photo shoot.

Thankfully, all the tree and the star need to do is stand here and evoke wonder. Every night, I unplug the lights, and for a moment, I take in the glow, the warmth, the grace. From this old limpy tree.

It’s genius that Christmastide is 12 days, not one. We couldn’t sustain the emotional high, the expectations, the push. But we can just stand here and lean. We can take in the warmth and wonder of our limpy, marvelous lives. We have 10 more days of joy and grace. Lean or limp, but make certain to laugh. Tilt as needed. Receive what comes. Be curious. Play, waste time. Make merry.

Happy Christmas.

4 Replies to “Lean if You Need to”

  1. Had a sparse tilt,CO forest tree and got an artificial on Christmas Day. It’s OK cuz now we can just walk thru the forest and enjoy without the trying to find one, decide which one. Fun with little kids, not with a fully adult child
    Merry Christmas to all of youand a Happy, joyful 2021

  2. Winn, Always love hearing from you. Glad you are staying warm and enjoying the props of the season. Despite the tilt, your tree is pretty! And I forgot about Christmastide and it does let us down gently through Christmas. We had a great sermon today, “Did you miss Christmas?” Made us slow down and think about the “reason for our season”
    Praying for you as you are in a new area and a new job.
    With a new year on the verge of happening, “Look for the flowers of Joy growing in the rich soil of adversity and trust Him.”

  3. I loved reading about your “mind of its own’ Christmas tree! I moved to a new area last May, love where I am and my cousin sent me fresh greens for the holiday. I put them in a vase that is part of a wall sconce and discovered it looked the shape of a tree! Thus has been born ‘my Christmas tree in a vase’. I put a few small baubles on it and a short string of battery operated lights and a new tradition was born. Joy to you as we ease into the new year!

  4. In 2007, well into the month of December, we lost our beloved Dad, “Grandpa Dubby.” By the time we got around to finding a Christmas tree, there was only one left at the Nursery. It was small, scrawny, and half price. It reminded us of Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tree. We took it home, decorated it and allowed it to delight us into the New Year. We all agree; it was our favorite Christmas Tree. Best to you and yours on your new adventures.

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