O Creator,
Breather of Life,
Maker of leaf and needle,
Shaper of the deciduous bare and enduring green,
as we unadorn our reminders
of You laying aside Your own glories –
We remember another
Tree of Life
that wrought death
and a broken Tree of Death
that rings with hammer strokes
bringing life.
And we rejoice!
That seasons which seem to be filled with decay,
our souls know as
promises
of resurrection.
This was originally written for that solemn moment of taking down the Christmas tree. When I was at Refine: the Retreat this spring which is hosted in the forest convent called “The Pines”, it seemed an appropriate reading among the grand trees. As I’ve reflected on it, it has grown in application to my heart, not just for the un-adorning of Christmas trees, but for the Lenten season or any other time when the Shepherd is shearing us: laying us bare before Him so that He might remind us of what is to come.
The featured image is titled “Christmas Tree with Cone”
and is used with permission from Lancia E. Smith.
Jordan Elise Durbin is a cultivator of five wondrous children, a slightly out of control garden, and a small-but-efficient pottery studio. Her laundry piles can attest to her many activities and willingness to do anything but manage said piles. She can frequently be found running Ohio’s magical trails with her children, baking large quantities of buttery goodness, and writing about the woes and wonders of medieval chickenry. She is the author of The Chicken Pox: A Feathery Retelling of Hansel and Gretel, Periwinkle, and The Prodigal Fox. She has contributed to Cultivating since 2018. Jordan is the curator for the column “Cultivating A Maker’s Life”. She looks for the glory of God in every corner of creation and regularly finds it.
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