We took down our Christmas decorations yesterday including what was probably our most memorable tree. From the low price we paid ($39 compared to when we used to pay close to $90) to its funky top-heavy look to its tumble to the ground at 4 a.m. one morning, that tree gave us many stories (and sermon illustrations) to tell. And it continued yesterday.
We had these huge plastic bags from Crate & Barrel and my wife was wondering the other day what the heck we were going to do with them all. An inspired thought hit me Friday night. We hadn’t purchased a tree bag. Why not try to bag the tree with the C & B bags? I’m not great when it comes to being industrious so I was particularly proud of this idea. The first two bags went on the top pretty well (see pic below), but, of course, the challenge was how to get them on the bottom. My wife was gracious enough to go with me on this but after laying the tree on the ground, cramming the bags on, and getting out the duct tape, I was wondering just how good an idea this was.
We did get it out the door (only making a small mess) and on top of the minivan so I could take it over to Grant Park to be recycled. I inched my way east on 13th and made my way to Columbus where there was a pile of other trees ready to be chipped. As I pulled in and got out of the van, however, a man came running over to me and offered to help me take the tree off the van. I was a little taken aback by this. He said he told the Parks Department about this and that he was homeless and was just helping out.
I’ve lived in the city long enough to be hardened and cynical by “good deeds,” which is a pretty lousy attribute of mine. He wants some money, I thought, and then I realized that I literally didn’t have any with me as I’d left my wallet at home. As he got the tree off the van, I told him that I didn’t have anything to give him and that I could certainly do it myself. He looked at me as if I’d offended him. “That’s OK, that’s OK,” he said. “I get a blessing out of this.” He pulled off the tree, told me to have a nice day, and dragged it with its other new tree friends.
I really, really need to quit being so cynical. Here’s a guy who’s homeless and even if he was looking for a couple bucks, I should give him credit for being entrepreneurial. And maybe he really was just doing a random act of kindness.
The needles from the tree continue to be a reminder of my need to receive and share kindness.
