A Christmas tree farm! How delightful! What comes to mind when you think of a Christmas tree farm?
Probably a nice bit of acreage. Well-covered with good-sized, beautifully shaped evergreen trees. Noble firs – to be sure! Noble firs are by far the very best Christmas trees! And maybe some Douglas fir.
Perhaps you might be envisioning something along the lines of this …
For sure you didn’t imagine this …
What?!? I don’t even see the trees! You’ve got to be joking! That’s no “Christmas tree farm”!
That’s just a tiny little bit of dirt in the front flowerbed in front of the house. That’s no “Christmas tree farm”!
Or this …
Cedars?!? Growing up out of the rocks lining the front pathway?!? You’ve got to be joking! Cedars don’t even make good Christmas trees! Everybody knows that!
Cedars won’t even hold a star on top! See …
Living in the forest, surrounded all around by beautiful alive, growing evergreen trees, I haven’t seen the reason each Christmas to spend an inordinate sum of money to purchase a cut Christmas tree. (my kids think I’m a “humbug”)
Furthermore, I refuse to purchase a big beautiful fake Christmas tree, when the only option for storage is in the workshop … the unquestioned, undisputed domain of the mice! (and squirrels!) A boxed fake Christmas tree would be a most inviting place for the mice to build their nests. So “No” … absolutely no fake Christmas tree! (my kids think I’m a “humbug”)
But I’m not a total “humbug.” I’ve creatively improvised every year when it comes to having a “Christmas tree”! One year I decorated the fake potted palm as our “Christmas tree.” Another year I decorated the climbing Clerodendrum vine as our “Christmas tree.”
(my kids were not humored)
Last year, I decorated a Leyland Cypress out on the front porch as our “Christmas tree.” Granted, I kept it outside rather than inside … because I was planning on planting it in the forest. But it counts! It was a decorated Christmas tree.
My kids didn’t agree. A Christmas tree must be inside!
My kids think I’m a “humbug.”
But this year! This year God has given me my very own “Christmas tree farm”! I am absolutely delighted! Going forward, I no longer have to worry about what to do about a “Christmas tree.” From now on, I’ve got my very own personal supply of “Christmas trees”!
The cedars have been very fruitful! When God finished his Creation (at the very beginning of time – Genesis chapters 1-2), God blessed all of Creation and he said: “Be fruitful and multiply!”
He was not joking!
The cedars have been very fruitful and have multiplied! About a hundred or so cedars sprouted up in my Hosta pots two winters ago. And there they have grown for two summers.
Yesterday I decided it was time for the little baby cedars to graduate from their “nursery pot” … and to move out into the world to their very own piece of earth. Their little roots need space to spread out! … and grow!
So, I spent a good hour or more yesterday afternoon planting each of the tiny baby cedars in their own little spot of earth.
Yay for my very own personal “Christmas tree farm”!
Yesterday’s blog post was about gratitude for God’s provision for us! Gratitude for a “table prepared.” God has provided for me a supply of “Christmas trees.”
Do these “Christmas trees” look like what one would expect a “Christmas tree” to look like?
No.
These “Christmas trees” are not big enough. They aren’t they type of tree a “Christmas tree” is supposed to be. My “Christmas tree farm” doesn’t look like a typical “Christmas tree farm” is supposed to look.
But nonetheless, God has provided “Christmas trees” for me! This is God’s provision … for me.
Sometimes what God provides for you might not look like what you are expecting. Sometimes when God provides for you, his provision won’t look like what you think it’s “supposed” to look like.
In a sermon I heard several years ago, the pastor made the statement: “God’s provision for you won’t always come wrapped in your preferences.”
So true!
The sermon was about the nation of Israel crossing over to take possession of the Promised Land after 40 years of wandering in the desert wilderness. During their time in the desert, God provided for the people by sending manna each day. All they had to do was go out each morning and pick it up off the ground.
But once they crossed over into the Promised Land, the manna stopped.
From then on, their provision looked like a seed to plant in the ground rather than manna to simply pick up off the ground.
My provision of “Christmas trees” will take time! The little baby cedars will take years to grow.
So also, in the same way, God’s provision for you might be something that will take time!
God “prepares a table” for us – God provides for us, and meets our needs – but it might not always look like what we are expecting. It might not look like what we think it’s “supposed” to look like.
Thank you God for always providing for us! You are faithful! And you are good!
May our eyes be open to see your provision for us, even when it might not look like what we are expecting.
