Christmas Tree Tradition

Every year on Black Friday, our family goes out to pick a Christmas tree. It has become our holiday tradition and a day I most look forward to.

I think what makes traditions so special is the very simple action of doing the same thing, with the same people we love, again and again, but noticing the nuances in the changes year after year. It helps you slow down and remember the past, be in the present, and count the years we may or may not have together in the future.

You suddenly realize that time is flying by and it felt like just yesterday you were doing this exact same thing.

We took our same family photo standing with our choice tree and I see in my phone photo album, year after year, just how much taller the kids are getting in comparison with that same 6-8 foot Douglas fir Christmas tree.

Though their excitement and joy (and my own), for this thing we do that “feels like ours” was there, I was reminded just how precious these moments are and that we are not to take any of it for granted.

Do you have a holiday tradition? If not, consider creating one with loved ones this year!

Let’s find peace by piece when we smell the pine from a Christmas tree that even though it too won’t live forever, we can be grateful for this time God has given us with those we love.

“Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.” -Psalm 39:4