Tuesday With Teri

A Christmas Tree Angel….reposting this story has become a tradition. Each year I continue to be reminded of God’s grace as I see her oddly perched atop our tree.  This year my angel is still carefully tucked away in storage, we are on our boat for Christmas, but her image is never far from my thoughts this time of year.  I hope you have enjoyed the advent posts this year as much as I have enjoyed writing them. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and new beginnings!

            I’m not sure where she came from.  I’m not even certain of her age.   I do know that she sat atop the Christmas tree for many of my growing up years, quietly presiding over each holiday season.  I acquired her from my mother many years ago.

Her gold foil, cardboard wings, once ended in perfect points extending her stature to seven inches.  Now her wing span is slightly reduced, as the tips went from being slightly bent, to folded, until they eventually tore off.  Her dark red velvet dress, trimmed with gold brick brack, fits snuggly to her waist before flowing over her cardboard form.  Her once silky, radiant white hair, now hangs in brittle coils around her shoulders.  A little gold foil halo covers a place on her head where some of her hair has given way to the passage of time.

Her head and hands are made of wax, as is the candle she holds in one hand.  I remember her as a beautiful lady, her face perfect and delicate.  Those qualities are now faded.  Her head, once held high and straight, has melted somewhat.  It now bows lovingly downward and a bit to the right.  Two years ago a significant amount of time and effort was put into re-attaching her long held candle to her now miss shaped hand.  Yep, she’s a bit of mess you might say.  I like that about her.

She doesn’t light up or sparkle, and quite often she is too small for the tree, making her look even more out of place.  But I look forward to her presence in my living room each Christmas.  Late at night, when the tree is lit and others have gone on to bed, I find myself thinking of her and all we have in common.

I too, know what it’s like to have my wings bent and torn.  I know what it feels like when your body gives itself over to the challenges of time.  My hair is no longer silky or radiant, and I only wish had a halo to hide the places where it has become thin.  I understand the sagging of her shoulders and the bowing of her head.  I have felt the weight every mother bears for her family.  I know the need to bow my head in constant prayer.   I love her imperfection.  She’s a holiday reminder that God loves us in our imperfection.

A love full of grace, a savior born to take on the sin of the world, a reason to celebrate, reflected in the melted features and unraveled edges of our Christmas tree Angel.

God’s love was revealed among us in this way. God sent His son into the world so we might live through Him. 1 John 4:9

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

This is the fouth week of Advent. Each week, leading up to Christmas, we pause in remembrance of the birth of our Savior. In some households, a candle will be lit in recognition of each of the Advent themes.   This week we consider LOVE and the birth of Jesus Christ.

It’s a gorgeous, red and black Christmas plaid, sweater coat and it is CRAZY SOFT! I may have squealed in delight the first time I touched the fuzzy fabric when I opened this gift from my friend. It hangs past my waist and easily wraps around me like a big bear hug. I think the best description for it would be COZY.

The obvious “coziness” of the sweater coat has led to a few kind encounters, and a few awkward ones as well. I appreciated the compliments I received about it throughout the day. “Wow, that looks warm.”, “I love your sweater!”, “Where did you find that, it looks cozy?”, “That looks really comfortable.”, “What a pretty coat.”, were just a few of the comments my sweater coat inspired. A bit awkward, but still kind, were the encounters I had with a couple of sales ladies who wanted to “pet” my arm and talk about the softness of the fabric.

I sent a text to my friend, the giver of the gift, and shared with her the compliments I had been receiving. Her reply was, “That’s great. I definitely saw you wearing it during the holidays.”

As I sit to collect my thoughts for this advent post about LOVE, the sweater coat is resting on the back of my chair. I find myself quieted by God’s sweet whisper of His message for me today.

Today, as I ran errands and finished my shopping, I was wrapped in a gift from a dear friend. The beauty of the gift was obvious to those who saw it. What was not obvious, was what was below the gift. Under the gift, my attire this day was wrinkled, possibly stained (I tend to spill at every meal), and generally not my most flattering top. The people I saw today did not see any of that…they saw Cozy, they saw WARMTH, they saw COMFORTABLE, they saw the GIFT.

Lord, this season, and all year long, may we be ever mindful of your LOVE for us. You sent your son, Jesus Christ, to this fallen world, to give us a hope for forgiveness.  You cover us with Your grace, wrap us in mercy and overwhelm us with the gift of Your LOVE. In all that we do, wherever we are, may others see that GIFT in us.  I pray you “definitely see me wearing it during the holidays.”

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send His son into the world to judge the world; but that the world would be saved through Him.” John 3:16-17

This is the third week of Advent. Each week, leading up to Christmas, we pause in remembrance of the birth of our Savior. In some households, a candle will be lit in recognition of each of the Advent themes.   This week we consider PEACE and the birth of Jesus Christ.

 I was enjoying a nice jog on a local beach boardwalk when I had another “you don’t see THAT every day” moment. I saw the two ladies heading my way.  They were not in a hurry and were very engaged in conversation. As the ladies came closer, I noticed they were dressed in mismatched Christmas PJs, but THAT was not what made for the “you don’t see THAT every day” moment (because oddly enough, PJs in public on our boardwalk is not uncommon, sigh…). What made these ladies appearance a  “you don’t see THAT every day” moment was what one of them carried. Tucked up against her side and nestled in her arm was a small pale feathered CHICKEN!  You do NOT see THAT everyday!

As I continued past them, I kept looking back over my shoulder trying to confirm what I just saw. For the remainder of my run, I kept mulling over why someone would be carrying a chicken on a walk. I could not make sense of it. It was unexpected, unusual, and strange.  All I could do was shake my head, smile and think, “Whelp, you don’t see THAT every day”.

There are times in life when things do not fit into our expectations or understanding.

I imagine the look on the face of the cow who found a baby in his feeding trough one night. I picture his wet sticky nose inching over the edge of the manger before being shooed away by Joseph.

The cow had to have been thinking, “You don’t see THAT every day.”

I wonder if the shepherds turned to one another, following the appearance of the host of angels, and said, “you don’t see THAT every day!”

I think about the message those angels proclaimed that night,

“…today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord. …you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, lying in a manger….Glory to God in the highest, and on earth Peace among men…” Luke 2:12-14

A baby, the son of God, placed in a feeding trough?  

Swaddled and tucked into an unexpected place, born in an unusual way, amidst strange circumstances, laid our Savior. Jesus Christ, the son of God, born to bring PEACE and reconcile the sinfulness of man with the Holiness of God.

“You DON’T see THAT every day!!!”

This is the second week of Advent.  Each week, four leading up to Christmas, we pause in remembrance of the birth of our Savior. In some households, a candle will be lit in recognition of each of the Advent themes.   This week we consider the JOY we have in Jesus.

It’s early in the morning, the darkness of my predawn living room is broken only by the lights from our Christmas tree. As I sip coffee from my favorite Christmas mug, I look over each ornament and am filled with Joy.

Pretty, blown glass balls of silver and blue are recent additions to our ornament collection. I love how they reflect and amplify the lights on the tree. Several of the ornaments are funny, gifted to us over the years, most of them themed in someway; beach, crabs, golf, boats, each conjuring memories of the crazy friends/family who gave them. But my all-time FAVORITE ornaments are those made by my mother-in-law and mom.

For many years, when the kids were little, my mother-in-law(Grammie) would make them ornaments. Tiny creations made from scraps of felt were perfect for little ones to place on the tree without supervision. They always got to hang their own. She lovingly turned plain ball ornaments into funny clown faces and even cute reindeers complete with antlers! Time, and my poor repacking skills, have lead to the demise of a few of these, but several have lasted and continue to hold a place on our tree. This morning my eyes rested on my favorite one and I smiled. There tucked sort of toward the back of the tree(sorry Grammie) was our one eyed reindeer. One of the reindeer’s googly eyes went missing many years ago, but he continues to be a valued part of our Christmas décor and memories.

My mom(Maw Maw) was always surprising me with unique creations for our tree. Small V8 cans were crushed, painted and transformed into angels. A bundle of small sticks, spray painted gold, became a lovey place for a small ornate birds nest with ribbon. A broken egg shell held a thimble full of moss, a small bird perched atop, and hung by a small red ribbon. But perhaps the best were her toilet paper creations. Toilet paper was somehow soaked, pressed into molds and came out as works resembling plaster angel faces. Even the empty toilet paper roll itself gave her inspiration…to someone else it was just trash, in my mom’s hands it became a painted, bearded Santa Claus.

I ran my hand over the rough beard of the toilet paper roll Santa Claus and laughed to myself at the uniqueness of her gifts….and then I considered Joy.

Maybe this season finds you changed by the years, perhaps it feels like something is missing, like our one-eyed reindeer…but know this my friend, you are a valued creation because of the God Who created you, not because you are perfect, but in every imperfection as well.

Maybe this season you are feeling empty, used up, cracked or a bit broken…we have a God who REDEEMS the lost, RESTORES the broken hearted and RECONCILES us to Himself even in our sin and imperfection.   In the hands of God, what is empty, used up, cracked and broken is made beautiful.

THIS is the GOOD NEWS OF A GREAT JOY of which the angels proclaimed….and it is STILL Good News to us all today, every day, to All PEOPLE.

And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold I bring you good news of a great JOY which shall be for ALL the people; for today, in the city of David there has been born for you a SAVIOR, Who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11