In our previous post we answered this question from Matt ... just why do you go to Home Depot each year for your Christmas tree? After reading the post, we heard from Matt via email. With his permission, we'd like to share his thought provoking, or should I say - made me laugh so hard I fell out of my chair - response with you.
And I quote ... "Two questions. First of all who puts the angle on top first? The topper goes on last. It is the climax of the Christmas tree decorating! Second, How can you be inside looking at trees.
You need to be on top of a mountain, wind blowing, children running among the trees. Then there is the whole saw thing. You gotta get down in the mud, sap on the hands sawing back and forth, back and forth. Don, my NJ friend, you should know all of this...unless you have been drug down by too many female Glabs...Don I will save you, there is hope for next year....if you think Home Depot Christmas tree shopping is fun you have been deceived by the woman.
It also might be helpful (as your pastor) to point out the biblical/spiritual aspect of going into the mountains to find a tree. Was Jesus born in a Home Depot? Did He have heat? No, He was born in the mountains, a stable cave, the cold, the wind...We must do all we can to identify with Christ coming to earth. Just like His manger was cut from wood, we cut our tree. The symbolism is amazing isn’t it!!! We even saw some sheep and cows on our way to cut the tree! How biblical is that.
Did Mary and Joseph have a group of people, orange aprons on, ready to load their donkey and tie down their stuff? No, it was a long journey. Many, many miles. Certainly we can walk half a mile to show our appreciation for what they did so we could be blessed. What a sign of thankfulness to God that we persevere the journey like Joseph and Mary. How kind of God to allow us to identify with them this way.
Maybe I should put this in a question rather than an accusation...What do you desire from the Home Depot experience more than pleasing God? What are you craving? Perhaps we should set up another counseling session with your children so I can help them work through the trauma of their childhood Christmas tree experience. They either need to deal with this now or the singles pastors will have to care for them later in life, you choose."
It also might be helpful (as your pastor) to point out the biblical/spiritual aspect of going into the mountains to find a tree. Was Jesus born in a Home Depot? Did He have heat? No, He was born in the mountains, a stable cave, the cold, the wind...We must do all we can to identify with Christ coming to earth. Just like His manger was cut from wood, we cut our tree. The symbolism is amazing isn’t it!!! We even saw some sheep and cows on our way to cut the tree! How biblical is that.
Did Mary and Joseph have a group of people, orange aprons on, ready to load their donkey and tie down their stuff? No, it was a long journey. Many, many miles. Certainly we can walk half a mile to show our appreciation for what they did so we could be blessed. What a sign of thankfulness to God that we persevere the journey like Joseph and Mary. How kind of God to allow us to identify with them this way.
Maybe I should put this in a question rather than an accusation...What do you desire from the Home Depot experience more than pleasing God? What are you craving? Perhaps we should set up another counseling session with your children so I can help them work through the trauma of their childhood Christmas tree experience. They either need to deal with this now or the singles pastors will have to care for them later in life, you choose."
While I read that, I laughed and laughed and laughed ... and then I thought, was he kidding?!?! or serious?
Then came his response, "Just in case some of you are wondering, there is NO truth in any of this!”
Well, what do you all think ... Home Depot vs. cutting down a live tree vs. an artificial tree?
O Tannenbaum
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
You give us so much pleasure!
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
You give us so much pleasure!
How oft at Christmas tide the sight,O green fir tree, gives us delight!
O Christmas Tree,
O Christmas Tree,
You give us so much pleasure!
O Tannenbaum
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
You give us so much pleasure!
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
You give us so much pleasure!
How oft at Christmas tide the sight,O green fir tree, gives us delight!
O Christmas Tree,
O Christmas Tree,
You give us so much pleasure!
6 comments:
I don't even want to tell you what we do. Ours comes in a nice big box with all the light already on it. I know I am so far from experiencing God in this whole thing its not even funny! My kids would like a real tree one day. I tell them when they move out and get their own place they can get one. I will save Matt's email so they can experience the true biblical meaning of it all. Thanks for sharing that with us. I needed a laugh.I think your tree is beautiful! And I'm sure those men in the orange smocks were very happy to have you as a customer.
So funny! Spoken like only Matt could say! You know our family always does artifical trees so I personally have not a preference. But I will say that Jim and I bumped into the Megorden family last night and Corby himself said that their tradition is to see how quickly they can select and purchase their Christmas tree from Home Depo.
Thats one for Home Depo. Have a Merry merry Christmas Glabs!
So funny, Kim!
Tho' we've taken the Home Depot route a time or 2 in a pinch, it's not our 1st choice. It just feels like an outdoor event to me but that's the farm girl in me, I suppose. :) ...yummy smells, red noses, warm cider, chainsaw smoke (Matt uses a saw?!), cold breath, calling thru' the trees: "Whadda 'bout this one?" - it's a package deal!
And I love the photos I've taken each year of "the hunt for our perfect tree". I gotta say, I never thought of taking my camera the year we got our tree at Home Depot! Hats off to you being gutsy enough to do it!!
get over it, matt.
you go glabs! you're the greatest!
So, I am a little late in posting, but we were out of town.
How funny! Matt cracks me up! Like Peggy, ours comes in a box with lights all over it! It really helps to quell any marital disagreement over how much money to spend on a tree. One of us prefers a very large, very full probably pretty expensive tree, while the other prefers "the cheaper, the better" kind of tree. Also, having a fake tree means no more sin abounding because of the tree stand, the tree, the saw, the blood, the sap, the tree that won't quit leaning......surely you understand.
i know i'm really late with this one- we love home depot! this year we thought it would be fun to get a tree still wrapped up and open it at home to see what it looked like when it breathed- it was the ugliest charlie brown tree and we loved it!!!! we did the chop down the tree thing one year- two places, no decent trees, rude workers (they were probably really cold) and a very embarrassing portapotty story... thumbs up for home depot!
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