Grandpa's Christmas Tree
Carol stood at the foot of the stairs calling up to her two boys upstairs: Are you
two ready yet, your father is starting the car. Carol and her husband Jim are
dropping the boys off at their Grandpa’s house for a few hours, while they go
Christmas shopping. Grandpa told the boys on the phone that he had a surprise for
them when they got there. The ten year old, James and Carl seven, came running
down the stairs. They were in a hurry to find out what kind of a surprise it was that
Grandpa had for them.
They didn’t get to see grandpa as often as they would like too because he lives all
the way across town, and he doesn’t drive any more. He still lives in the same house,
that Carol had grown up in. Grandpa lives there alone now, his wife waits for him
in heaven. The last time they visited him, was a couple weeks ago. When Grandpa
had called to ask if they would take him to pick out a Christmas tree.
Grandpa always gets a live tree for Christmas. Carol says; Dad, why don’t you
get an artificial tree? Grandpa says; Part of Christmas is picking out the tree.
Carol says; Dad you always pick out the worst tree on the lot to bring home, this
year let me pick out the tree? Grandpa says; Only if I can pick out yours. He wins,
because Carol doesn’t want stuck with the worst tree on the lot.
This year Grandpa picked out one that was already discarded. The man running
the lot didn’t want it, he thought it looked too bad to sell. Grandpa said, It looks
OK to me. Carol said, How much? The man said, Take it, I would have to pay to
have it hauled off, its yours. Grandpa insisted on paying him the regular price, as if
it was along side the other trees for sale.
Carol bought the best looking tree on the lot for the Christmas tree at their house.
Grandpa said, He had gotten the better tree because it was chosen by the heart, and
not by the eye.
The boys were still talking about that when Jim pulled into Grandpa’s driveway
with the family station wagon. The boys jumped out and ran to the door and
started knocking. Jim and Carol had got there too, by the time Grandpa opened the
door. The boys said, Where is it, where is the surprise? Grandpa said, Come over
by the tree boys, Jim, you and Carol too. I want you all to see this.
They stood there looking at the tree. Grandpa said, Look real close at it, What do
you see? Carol said, The worst looking Christmas tree yet is all I see. None of them
seen what he was trying to let them see on their own. Grandpa said, Here, I will
show you. He reached over and picked something off the tree and put it in the palm
of his hand. He turned around and showed it to everyone.
Carol said, OH Gee Whiz Dad, it’s a bug? Grandpa said, No, it’s a praying
mantis. Carol said, Thats a bug Dad. Grandpa said There are hundreds of them all
over the tree. Carol said, Get rid of the tree Dad, throw it outside and call the
exterminators. Grandpa said, No Carol. There must have been eggs laid in the tree
and the warm temperature of the house hatched them, making them think it was
spring. The boys were disappointed, they had hoped the surprise was an early
present for them.
Grandpa said, Anything that prays is welcome in this house, praying mantises
included. Carol said, We will be back in a few hours Dad, to pick up the boys. If
you all are not eaten up by all of them. Grandpa said, GOD looks after all
creatures great and small, thats why the eggs were laid in my tree and not yours. He
knew they would be safe here and sprayed with bug killer at your house Carol.
Grandpa is a retired preacher. He wasn’t always a preacher, he use to be a roofer.
When people ask Grandpa; When did you decide to become a Christian? Grandpa
says, When I was about halfway down. Grandpa tells them :One day I was putting a
roof on a three story house, I took a wrong step and off I came. On the way down I
had enough time to say a short prayer, JESUS SAVE ME is all I got out before I the
hit ground. I was about one second from Hell, everyone is if you think about it.
Grandpa said, Sometimes it comes on real fast like lightening does, or sometimes it
comes real slow, like a tree growing in the woods. Grandpa said, If it hadn’t come
fast for him, that when he hit the ground, he would have just kept going right on
down, deeper and deeper until he landed right on top of Satan’s pitch fork.
Grandpa told James and Carl to come on into the kitchen. He said, Lets sample
some of the cookies I bought for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. I wouldn’t want to
leave him bad cookies, then all I would get would be a lump of coal in my shoe.
Grandpa poured three glasses of milk to have with their cookies. Then he passed
out the cookies. Grandpa said, Come on boys, lets go back in the living room and sit
by the Christmas tree. What better place can you think of to eat Christmas
Cookies? The three brought their cookies and milk in and sat down by the tree.
James said, Grandpa you really should get a better tree, you always said, Picking
out the tree is part of Christmas. Grandpa said, Thats right James, picking out the
tree, together as a family, is part of Christmas. It’s not that you get the biggest tree,
or that you put the most expensive decorations on it.
Look at this tree boys, the praying mantises are scattered all over the tree. These
little fellows, I feel, are special decorations sent from GOD. No one else has
decorations that decided for themselves where to be on the tree, or that move
around and change places on the tree.
Grandpa said, From now on in the middle of Summer, for the rest of your lives,
when you see a praying mantis, you will think of this Christmas tree. Ask anyone
you know about the Christmas tree they had last year or years ago when they were
younger. About all they can say is, it was a real nice one. They get the nicest one
they can find each year, same as always, nothing special, just a nice pretty tree.
Grandpa said, James do you remember the tree I had last year? James said, Sure
Grandpa, it was crooked and looked like the letter ‘S’ almost. Mom said the ‘S’
stood for Stupid looking. Grandpa said, And the tree I got the year before that.
Carl said, It had a bird nest in it, Mom was OK with that one.
Grandpa said, Do you know what kind of tree I got the year Carl was born?
James said, I don’t remember I was too little but Mom said, It was too little and that
you went all the way to a place that grew trees just to find it. Grandpa said, It was
exactly 19 and 1/2 inches tall, the same length Carl was when he was born that year.
Grandpa said, A Christmas tree is treated alot like Christ was. Cast down and
dragged by its limbs. Then it is shown to the people and asked: Do you want this
one? and they say No, give us another. A cross is made and the tree nailed to it, then
stood up in a place for all to see and watch die before its taken down again.
The two boys were now looking at the tree, with a different point of view. Carl
picked up one of the prayig mantis and said, Why do they pray all the time?
Grandpa said, I think God put them little fellows on this earth, so that every time
we seen one, it would remind us to pray.
Jim and Carol soon returned to pick the boys up. She told them to get their things
together and hurry. Grandpa hugged all of them and said, “Don’t forget to be here
early on Christmas morning” as they walked out the door to leave. When they got
home, and the boys were in their room, and getting ready for bed.
Carl said, James, look what I’ve got. And he opened up his hand. James said,
You better not let mom find out, or you’ll really get it, you know she don’t like bugs.
Carl said, I’m going to keep him to remind me to pray. James said, Look, (As he
opened up his hand ) I brought one home too!
Carl asked, Where can we keep them ? James said, The same place God chose -
“ The Christmas Tree! ”
Written by JLH
