Every ornament tells a story. That’s the basic philosophy of my Christmas
tree. During this Christmas season, I am
introducing you to some of my favorites and sharing the story behind them. First were some creative ornaments from my parents.
Today’s ornament is from my Grandpa and Grandma. Pretty much every year, they gave all the
grandkids an ornament. I have some they
bought while volunteering in Salt Lake City, some they bought in Mexico while
they wintered in Tucson, and several that they made (the creative part runs in
the family).
This one is my favorite.
It is also the last one, because it is from my grandma’s last Christmas
with us. They worked together on this
one. They developed the idea and found
the pattern together. My grandpa did the
cutting and sanding. This angel reminds
me of their deep faith that they passed on to us.
In the last few years, I have become increasingly thankful
that the faith they passed on is a well-rounded faith. They were (and are) people of great
piety. They kept a drawer of Bible story
books to use when the grandkids came to visit.
They wanted to help us learn the stories of faith and the practice of
family devotions. For their 50th
wedding anniversary, the family gave them a Bible that each of the kids and grandkids
had marked some of their favorite verses in.
In the years since, both Grandma and Grandpa have added notes of
passages that are significant to them.
It is a wonderful physical heirloom of faith.
But their faith is more than knowing the Bible well and
having right theology. Their faith has
legs. It showed itself us in the care
they show—the gifts, showing up on all sorts of occasions, being good friends
and faithful church members. And it
showed itself in the way they spent their time.
Instead of going to Florida for the winter to go golfing and shopping,
they went to Tucson to volunteer at a fledgling Christian high school. My grandpa is a Christian school teacher by
trade, and so every winter he helped this school as it grew. He did everything for them from substitute
teaching to digging ditches and building things. Grandma helped to work in the library. Their selfless care for others was a living
model for us and shaped our family. I
would not be the same person without them.
I thank God for them, and for this ornament that reminds me of my
heritage.
