Day 9: A Tale of Three Trees

Please join us in the 25 Days of December Challenge, issued by my friend Stacy.

When I was in college, my friends & I went to Wal-Mart on one early February day in 1996 or 1997. Much to our happy surprise, we found a couple of lonely clearanced Christmas trees - for FOUR dollars each! Two of us bought a tree & took them back to our apartments. Mine had been opened & returned, so I set it up when I got back home to be sure it had all of the pieces parts. My crazy roommate & I decorated it for Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day and I think we finally took it down right after Easter. When Tommie & I got married, we used that 5 foot "Charlie Brown" tree for the first 9 years of our marriage! Each year, I would dream of getting a nice Christmas tree. Each year, the budget would rule and we would use the same old tree.

The Charlie Brown tree is still holding on - decorated upstairs in 2008.

In 2003, we moved to Texas. Tommie agreed that when we purchased a home again, we could get a new Christmas tree. Finally, in 2006, we purchased a home. I used my 50% off coupon & spent more money than I imagined I would ever spend on a tree - all on a brand-new, gorgeous 9 foot Christmas tree that fit perfectly into our entry way. It made a grand holiday entrance, if I do say so myself!

Our 9 foot tree in the entry of our Texas house in 2007.

Here we are in 2008. We moved to Indiana and lo & behold - our new house has 8 foot ceilings. Yep, EIGHT foot. Our gorgeous tree was how many feet tall? Yep, NINE feet! I was heartbroken. I told Tommie that I was going to sell our wonderful tree to someone who would love & care for it and replace it with an equally beautiful tree. He wished me luck! I tried to sell it at a garage sale. People walked by & probably thought - man, this lady is crazy if she thinks she's going to get that much money for a used tree. Still, I persisted. I listed it on Craig's List. After a couple of weeks, a lady contacted me about the tree. One day, she called to say she was in my area (she lives in Illinois - 45 minutes away!) and wanted to see the tree. She came over, looked it over, opened the box, felt the branches, looked at photos of it in our old entry on my laptop, etc. She said they live in a 150 year old home and were part of their town's holiday home tour. They normally get a live tree, but the tour was too early in the season to keep a live tree alive all the way to Christmas. She gave me full price in cash (yep, almost exactly what I paid for the tree 2 years ago) & took my beautiful tree home. I am so happy that it went to a good home where it will be admired by many.

Then, I promptly took my crisp large bills to the store with my 50% off coupon and picked out a beautiful 7.5 foot tree and paid a grand total of $15 with tax. It is very similar to the one I sold, just shorter.

Our 7.5 foot tree in front of the front living room window of our Indiana house in 2008.

The lesson to be learned in my Tale of Three Trees is that God knows the desires of our heart. He knew how much I wanted a nice tree & he provided the money to purchase one that was perfect for our home. Then after we moved, he provided a buyer that paid the right amount to allow us get a new one that is perfect for our new home. He loves me way more than a Christmas tree! I'm amazed over and over by the little details that He arranges and the ways that He shows His love for us. Thank you, Lord - for caring about me & my Christmas tree desires.