What Would Wood Say of Christmas
I sit by the windows of our ridge-line sanctuary, it’s where I’m found every sunrise. Three massive picture windows frame the view of the “world” for us, with the same actors performing daily. Those actors are the trees, a mountain ridge across the way, and sky. We can see cars gliding past on a road in the valley; faint reminders that we’re not alone. But we lift our eyes upward each and every minute we sit by our windows, we look up, it reminds us of much.
I can hear the “still, small voice” of my Abba-Father best, when I look up. I can hear His voice in my heart most loudly when I am “still” by the windows and look upward in the direction of all that’s of His doing and refrain from looking down at all that people are doing. That’s a thought worth pondering over. Dear friend, if you find yourself always looking “down”, you’ll miss all that’s higher. Find a place in your world that invites you to look UP. Go there often.
For me, it’s the sky and the trees, the mountains and the birds. Isn’t it amazing to notice that watching birds almost always allows us the pleasure of an upward gaze? You might see them on the ground, searching for their daily bread….but give it a minute or two, and they’ll guide your eyes upward. “Me thinks the Creator had a purpose in this” (said with a wonderful Scottish brogue).
For this Christmas sharing, as we ready our hearts for remembering full-well the gift that was given on that first Christmas morn, let’s together allow the trees to capture our focus in this week’s reach for more of HIM. Trees are, in a sense, quite Biblical in their tall, steady, unwavering stance. I love the majesty of a good solid oak. To have begun from a tiny acorn and grown into something so strong and beautiful. Yea, give me a good oak tree any day over the drama of the world around us. Trees are laced throughout the pages of scripture. Oaks, acacias, sycamores and fig, myrtle, cedar, pine, almond, olive and more.
The ark of the covenant was made of acacia.
The olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane saw our Savior pray.
The sycamore held the weight of short Zacchaeus.
The fig was cursed by Jesus.
And it all began with the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
I’m certainly not the first to allow the trees of scripture and the trees on any hillside to captivate and intrigue me. After all, wasn’t it Solomon (that wise man who still made a mess of his life), wasn’t it he who said, “There is nothing new under the sun.”? Yes, God-the-Father has been using trees since Genesis, so let’s indulge our focus on them as we reach for more of HIM.
From the beginning of our Jesus’ birth, to the end of His “skin-covered” days we find wood. The manger where he lay was a feed trough, believed to have been made of wood. The cross was wooden as well. Both of these woods, were not just present at his arrival and departure — both of these woods touched his skin, felt His holiness, heard his weeping, held Him.
The wood of the manger held the gift of Heaven and was lit by the star in the sky above it. The wood of the Cross was soaked in the Blood of the One who gave all to save our souls.
The focus is and always will be Jesus.
Let’s step closer to Him as we think on the ways the wood He knew so well still surrounds us today. His hands knew the grain of it, his nose knew its smell, his eyes knew which piece to choose…He knew wood. Trees are not the focus of our hearts, He is, He should be. But imagine as you touch the bark of a tree, our Savior touched the bark of many as well.
At Christmas we even bring a tree inside our homes. Fake or real, each person chooses, but the representation of a t-r-e-e in right there inside your living space. We decorate it and pack gifts underneath it…..but why?
Steve and I enjoy the warmth of a fire in a fireplace each and every day in the cold months of Georgia. Our fire glows beside our Christmas tree (we opt for a fake tree, we like to keep our fires in the fireplace). :) But all that warmth and beauty is because of trees. Wood inside our home. Gracious, our home is built of wood. The chair I sit in as I write to you is made of wood (wrapped in wonderful cloth and padded well, but wood is what its “bones” are made of).
The Venus star outside my window plays hide and seek with me as it silently travels behind the great limbs of an oak tree. The oak is surrounded by other steady companions of wood, all holding their position, completely unmoved by the frenzy of headlights in the distance on the road in the valley. But as the sun rises and the warming rays arrive, the branches of these massive trees will hold so much life. The squirrels and birds will wake in nests the trees eagerly hold, then they’ll fly and flitter here and there all in the branches where they’re safe and secure.
Trees. They never say a word…..but they’re found most everywhere and always ready to give what’s needed. Countless books have been written for children bringing little hearts into awareness of the valuable, able, giving, strong trees around us. “The Giving Tree”, by Shel Silverstein, is one of my all time favorite books for children and adults alike. It’s a must for growing emotional awareness in the hearts of children. Then there’s the amazing book, “The Tale of Three Trees”, by A.E. Hunt, that shares the longing of three trees to become something of importance, and be more than just a tree in the forest. Max Lucado’s “The Oak Inside the Acorn” is enchanting. Dr. Seuss and Johnny Appleseed, they both did their part drawing attention to the trees; the Lorax wouldn’t stop cutting them down and Johnny couldn’t stop planting them.
Trees. They have no mouth so they can not speak,
and yet they seem to “say” so much.
They have no arms so they can not work,
and yet they accomplish so much.
They have no hands so they can not touch
and yet they touch our lives everyday.
They have no manipulative ambitions other than to just be what they are, and yet they have been found present throughout scripture. They joyfully held our Savior at His birth, and they mournfully held our Savior as he died. And though it is not written in a verse, we can know that trees were present and holding their limbs high when He ascended back into the Heavenlies after walking, risen and alive, out of the tomb.
Trees. Let’s not ignore the way they also compel us, if we will allow it, to raise our arms, as they raise their limbs — look upward — keep focus on what’s best — and worship the Savior who came as a babe in a manger, overcame death on a cross, and even now speaks to the hearts that are willing to hear — His still small voice.
I think we people, too often, miss the sound of His voice………but the trees, their frequency is set on HIM. Merry CHRISTmas to you and yours from us and ours. Thank you for reaching-for-more of the Savior with us.
