When Dave and I wed in Telluride Colorado, his 12 year old Kyle and 18 year old Karmen, flew by themselves to meet us on the snow covered peaks. They carried with them fancy clothes for the wedding, ski clothes for their first try on the slopes and a large box containing our wedding gift. I was startled because they didn’t need to bring a gift at all. And I was moved by the gift: a very large paper pink angel carrying a small ceramic guitar. They explained that it was a tree topper for our Christmas tree. I knew then that it had stretched their meager budget and I could see in their faces the hope that it would symbolize a new family, blessed by something holy.
It would not have been my first choice for a tree topper. That angel in flight was tricky to arrange on the top of the tree an often wobbled and sometimes all you could see was the bottom of her flowing robes. But over the years, she became a part of us, a regular feature on the tree, regardless of how the other themes and ornaments changed. A few years ago the glue loosened and her guitar tumbled to the floor and broke and we had to carefully reassemble it and delicately balance it back in her arms. This year, I actually looked around for a new tree topper. As she has become rather tattered. And I think the kids don’t really care now, having built their own homes. But I couldn’t see any other tree toppers that appealed to me. Maybe after 27 years, I have fallen a little bit in love with her. Or maybe she just reminds me of the love of our family and especially of two teenagers who made room for a stepmother who was a parenting novice.
This year, many of our traditions around Christmas seem a bit tattered, like that tattered angel. But the beauty of love still shines through. God’s love is still revealed, still expanding, still inspiring us to love one another more fully.
