The Other Side of the Room

 It's been over a month since I decorated our apartment for Christmas, and I've savored (truly, truly) every second of these dark winter evenings with merely the glow of the tree lights. The little fairy lights on our Christmas tree farm above the kitchen cabinets, the two flocked trees flanking our TV...ahhhh. Gorgeous. Picturesque. Worth sleeping in the living room every night. (We haven't. But I would if Ryan liked couch sleeping as much as I do.) 

But the one thing we hadn't gotten this year? A live tree. We hadn't had time. We hadn't had the energy. We didn't really have the room for one more big tree. And then it was so close to Christmas that it just seemed silly to spend on a live tree for just a few days. I tried to be okay with it, but I missed that one tree. I really did!

A couple of nights ago, we had to run to Kroger in search of frozen bread dough for the WillowBridge Christmas. (Apparently it's hard to find these days.) As we walked in, we saw discounted table top live trees sitting by the entrance. I said to Ryan, "Oh, can we get one? Just a little Charlie Brown tree?" 

So we did. Ryan carried him off the Kroger Christmas Tree Lot and into our home, where we gave him the full Charlie Brown treatment:

One ornament - held on by a paperclip, no less - and a throw blanket wrapped around the bottom, mostly to keep Braeya from drinking the tree water. 

I walked by our little yet-to-be-named tree tonight and glanced over to the other side of the room with the other tree. The first tree: 

I found a profound lesson in these trees - definitely for my own life, and if I had to guess, I'd say it may be true of yours as well.

This tree?

I'm proud of this tree. I worked so hard on it. I weighed it down with twinkling lights. Ryan arranged all the ornaments just so, and every one of those ornaments holds a memory of a beautiful part of our life together. I carefully tucked and curled the ribbon and Ryan placed the glittering topper at the pinnacle. Underneath are all the gifts we've chosen for our family members. Everything about this is pretty and presentable, and I've shared it multiple times on this blog and on Instagram. 

But across the room is this guy:

The discounted leftover we found at the last minute. The one we dug out an ornament for, and in the absence of a proper hook, we supplemented with a paperclip. We'd run out of tree skirts, so we sent a blanket in to do the job. We've run out of lights, so he just sits in the nearby lamplight. 

It's my life. The pretty side I work hard on and allow others to see. But across the room is the less-made-up side, cobbled together and wrapped in a comforting blanket. 

But you know what I also reminded myself? That little leftover tree is what completed Christmas. For all the lighted and decorated trees, this season wasn't complete without the live tree. It may be little and haphazard, but it's the necessary final piece of my Christmas puzzle. 

That, too, is my life. There may be days when I don't feel polished and presentable, but I still matter and God has put me on this earth because something about His story is incomplete without me. 

We all have a part of our lives that feels like that little tree on the other side of the room. Maybe you're feeling a little less than polished and presentable today. But let me tell you for sure that you do matter! So gather up that blanket and wear the paperclipped ornament with the joy of the Lord!