Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things… Psalm 119:18 (NIV)
It was Christmastime and my office-mate Roger had one request on his gift list that he’d lost all hope of finding: an old-time aluminum Christmas tree like the one his fiancée Paula had adored as a girl growing up in the fifties. Knowing how I haunt flea markets and junk shops, Roger asked for my help. I searched everywhere and called everyone I knew who might know of one for sale. My leads led me nowhere.
Then on Christmas Eve, a friend and fellow nostalgia buff telephoned to wish me a Merry Christmas. “Sorry I couldn’t find you one of those old silver trees,” he remarked. “I’ve put out at least fifty feelers, but they’re scarce as hen’s teeth this year.”
In the background, I heard his sister holler, “Someone wants one of those dreadful silver Christmas trees? I have one in the attic just taking up space.” I was off to her house like a horse charging out of the gate at the Kentucky Derby.
That evening when Paula came through the door, the house was dark except for the glowing wheel of lights. When Paula heard the sound of the grinding motor, she threw down her purse and ran toward the tree like a five-year-old.
Roger and I love to recount that story whenever we need a shot of Christmas spirit at work. It never fails to put us in an “all things are possible” frame of mind, despite the pressures of the workaday world. But even more than that, it’s a wonderful year-round reminder that life is a continual Christmas. For God has placed what we need all around us, though sometimes hidden in the most ordinary places.
Thank You, loving Father, for opening my eyes to Your wonderful gifts.
