Lock Family Christmas Tree

I won the battle this year and got permission to go looking for a Christmas tree instead of buying one or putting up a yuppie fake one. So, on a beautiful Saturday afternoon we bundled up. The wife and I on a four-wheeler pulling a trailer with three boys behind, we headed out to look for the Lock family Christmas tree. Wow, did we ever find a beauty. Beautiful day, saved some money, family memories, only lost one kid in the bush...things couldn't be better. We got the tree home and into the living room to discover that she was just a touch too big. With all the excitement and my head swelling from so many successes in one day I made a slightly rash decision and went for the chainsaw. Did you know you can make a pretty big mess in four seconds with a chainsaw and a Christmas tree in 20 X 20 living room? The mess, however, you can clean up. What I've learned is that it's the smell that won't go away. The lingering exhaust smell from an oil/gas mix engine running full throttle. Memorable. A smell that can be quite enchanting on a winding snowmobile trail is quite overpowering in your living room. That real tree fresh pine smell is overrated anyways.

We all know this time of year is about more than the battles that wage between consumer and buyer, friend and foe, husband and wife. That out-buying our neighbour, up-grading beyond our budgets, and over-filling our schedules drains us and our families from the true gifts of the Christmas Season. Knowing this and living this is often two different realities. Even when I intentionally plan for things that will help me avoid those traps, as I was trying to do with the Lock family Christmas tree...slowing down, being authentic, taking the road less traveled, making a lasting family memory, avoiding consumerism, etc. The reality is we can quickly resort to our worst selves when small problems hit and things get difficult. I went for the chainsaw. What happened to slowing down, being authentic and making a lasting family memory? The road less traveled, maybe. I went into get-er done mode. Quick, thoughtless, worry about the mess later. Clark Griswold would have been impressed. My wife wasn't. The smell doesn't go away. A reminder of my humanity.

Christmas is a celebration of a God who stepped into that humanity. The lingering gas mix exhaust smell of our humanity. There have been times and places throughout my life when I've gone for the chainsaw and made a mess of things and needed forgiveness, needed grace, and needed to be shown a better way to walk, live and love in this world. The story at Christmas that I hold dear is about a God who took on flesh in helpless babe in order to offer a world these exact gifts. Forgiveness, grace and a better way to live and love with our families, our neighbours, our friends and even our enemies in this season and throughout the year. May the smell of those gifts overpower the smell of our chainsaw moments. Blessings to you and your family this Christmas Season.