The Tree of Christmas Hope...Conclusion

...Continued.
Christmas was not lost and the hope of Christmas coming here was more than a painful wish, it was real. I had tried so hard to tell myself it didn’t matter, but deep down inside it did matter. It mattered a lot. That tree, that simple beautiful tree, was the tree of Christmas Hope. It meant that people cared; it meant it was ok for me to care. It meant that in spite of my finances, or that lack of them, some how, some way, Christmas was on its way. Christmas was coming in spite of our dismal situation, and it was the true spirit of Christmas that would bring it in. The spirit of giving selflessly by those who loved and cared for us.

That bubble of hope was soon to pop as the door bell rang. I answered the door and found a young man standing on my stoop. I recognized Steve; he was one of Zach’s friends who helped paint the house. He had dropped off a Christmas tree in my yard so he could finish some Christmas shopping and had returned for it, only it wasn’t where he left it.

Laughing and realizing it had just been a mistake, Samantha and I gave the tree back to him. Even though the tree was gone, the message it brought stayed behind. I knew in my heart that Christmas was still coming, although I didn’t know how. The seed of faith had been planted and that was no mistake.

A few days later I was up early as usual getting ready for work. I let Max out to do his normal morning trek through the yard. There on the deck, leaning up against the bench, was another beautiful tree. I couldn’t believe my eyes, and tears once again streamed down my face. I looked around in the dark but saw no one who might have left it. I couldn’t believe this could happen a second time, and yet there was the tree.

Later that day I got a call from a very dear friend of mine, Colt. He wanted to know if Santa had left anything on the deck. I knew then it had been Colt who brought the tree for Samantha. I couldn’t thank him enough for being so thoughtful. He couldn’t possibly know just what that tree meant to me, and I knew how excited Samantha would be.

After supper that evening, Samantha and I decorated the tree. We had just finished putting the last ornament on it, and as if like magic, the door bell rang. Samantha ran to see if anyone was here to reclaim it. To our surprise it was Pike and her mother. They stopped by with gifts to place underneath our tree, gifts for both of us! Pike’s mom slipped me a gift card, with a wink she said, “Get a few more things for Samantha.”

Christmas did indeed come. My tears of worry turned into tears of joy. The many selfless acts of kindness by so many, turned a hopeless situation into one filled with the true meaning of Christmas. Through my faith I knew somehow things would be alright. This awful, painful year would pass. Things would start to look up, not only for one special little girl, but for her grandma too.