O Christmas Tree - Part II

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,

they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon.

Psalm 92:12

Fortunately for the sofa, and my peace of mind, there was a door to the side porch right next to the Christmas tree.  Grabbing an old quilt from the linen closet, my husband quickly wrapped the tree in it (decorations and all), yelled at my youngest daughter to grab the base (water and all), and they manhandled our bug-laden beauty out the door, across the porch, over the low brick wall, and onto the grass below.  I directed the other two girls to snatch any/all of the bug spray cans from underneath the kitchen sink.  There were, miraculously, three containers, and while one daughter sprayed the floor and the other sprayed the walls, I hurried downstairs to see if any of the little buggers had made it to the basement (plenty of them).

After the spraying came the scooping up/wiping down of all the little dead carcasses, then scrubbing the hardwood floors to remove as much as possible of the debris, the spray odor, and the very thought of what had happened there.  This was followed by a thorough search of every last nook and cranny in the living room, the doorway, the side porch and the basement for any little visitor that might have been overlooked.  When I was finally satisfied that all were thoroughly vanquished, my daughters and I trooped outside to view our poor stricken tree.  Although the kids wanted to haul it to the dump [lock, stock and barrel], I was a little more practical and began to remove our cherished family decorations, thoroughly cleaning each one before placing them in a bug-free container.

As I trudged back inside, mulling over the morning’s adventures and my newly-clean corner of the living room sans Christmas tree, I was surprised by a flurry of activity in that very spot.  While I was working outside, the kids had brought in a huge corn plant from my bedroom, draped lights from wall to wall over and through the plant, then hooked Christmas decorations from the light cords, and voila!  Our new Christmas tree – a little weird-looking, but totally bug-free.

There are those who write Christmas off as a pagan holiday and refuse to participate in its celebrations.  I feel very sorry for their loss.  It is not the physical symbols of Christmas – lights, trees, decorations, gifts - that hold the meaning of the season: it is the love of family and friends, the gathering together for food and fellowship, the joy of memories past and present, and the return to that first Christmas morning to worship at the cradle of the newborn King.