Monday, November 29, 2021

The Perfect Tree

 

Daily Gratitude Year 9- Day 333: Today, I am grateful for "The Perfect Tree".

I'm a ballad girl. I love a story told in song. There is a new one out called "Stretchy Pants" by Carrie Underwood. It will make you smile. Every genre has ballads.  Mama and I used to sing Johnny Cash's "Daddy Sang Bass" and "Puff the Magic Dragon", when we would have "concerts" at the piano in her last months. "Down in the Boondocks" is another she always loved to sing with me. 

A favorite Christmas ballad tells the story of a family finding the perfect Christmas tree. Ray Boltz wrote it and recorded it quite a few years ago. It is still one of my favorites. My dear friend Julie once found a snow globe that captured the sentiment of the song. That snow globe is on our mantle this year. It reminds me of Julie... and the song. 

Here is a snippet of the lyrics:

"Mother wants a straight one

The children want it tall

Dad just hopes that somehow

He can get it down the hall

Soon they'll gather round it

As proud as they can be

But when they're looking at it

I wonder if they see

The perfect tree

Grew very long ago

And it was not decked with silver

Or with ornaments of gold

But hanging from its branches

Was a gift for you and me

Jesus laid His life down

On the perfect tree."

It creates a powerful image. We used it for a Christmas program theme one year and the children begged to repeat the song a second year. It resonated with their souls. Of course, we let them sing it again. 

This scripture reminds us of God's heart for rescue and restoration. 

"And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree." -Romans 11:23

Every child finds a little magic in their Christmas tree, but what God did with a tree was not magic. It was a miracle.

Today, I am grateful for "The Perfect Tree".


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