Prepare the way of the Lord

The woods and every fragrant tree have shaded Israel at God’s command.—Baruch 5:8

In The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, the tree is the symbol of love.  The tree gives her leaves to the Boy she loved to make a crown, her apples so that the Boy could make money, her branches so that the Boy could build a house, her trunk so that the Boy could build a boat, and her stump so that the older Boy could sit and rest.
 
God gave his Son as his symbol of love to the world.  Jesus was the tree and we are the branches.  We can rest in his arms whenever the need arises.  Jesus would end his life nailed to a tree, that was made into a cross, and wearing a crown of thorns so that, following his death and resurrection, we would have life everlasting. Trees don’t live forever, but through the miracle of nature they are reborn.  During this season of Advent, we are preparing for the birth of the Christ Child.  Many of us have or soon will have a tree in our homes – a symbol of the season.  We will adorn its branches.  We will place gifts for loved ones and friends under those branches.  We will enjoy the joys of the holidays. 
 
Some us will participate in the Angel Tree for students at Sedgefield Elementary School – selecting “angels” from the branches of the tree, buying and wrapping gifts, and placing them under the tree’s branches to share joy with others.
 
But…let us also remember the giving tree and the gift of God, our Father, as we prepare our hearts for the coming of the baby Jesus and for the expectations of a happy holiday season.  The tree gave all that she had to give so that the Boy could have the necessities of life.  God gave his Son so that we might have life everlasting.  May we, as our time, gifts, and talents allow, remember others throughout this time of reflection.
 
Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.  Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.—Luke 3:4b-6
 
- Bill Wilds