Earlier this year, I met Velma at one of my presentations. This is the story she shared with me and I asked if I could share it with you.
“What you don't have, or, what you do have sets one apart from others ....”
Velma Scott
Thirty years ago, my daughter was just 4 years old. I was a single parent who finally found work. The pantry basically empty. I had all kinds of bills to pay, and now Christmas was around the corner. It was about the 2nd week in December.
My daughter had started attending a home day care and with all the Christmas commercials, decorations, etc., she was fascinated by the beautiful Christmas tree at
that day care. She wanted us to have one too. As money is scarce, a Christmas tree was just another expense I didn't need. I tried to hold off to see if I could get something on sale closer to Christmas, but no avail – she needed us to have a decorated tree too, and...NOW!
So, the next Saturday morning we went out to where they were selling real trees. I picked up a discarded, almost three foot flat bough taken off the bottom of a tree
someone had purchased. We brought it home, propped it up carefully against the wall in a large vase, watered it and together we decorated it with a large string of red neck beads and some small string angels I happened to have. No lights. No other decorations. Our little nativity set was set below.
My 4 year old was so proud of our REAL tree she declared it to be more beautiful than the “NOT REAL TREE” of her day care. She even
boasted to her grandparents that we had a “REAL TREE” for Christmas.
Each year when Christmas comes, I take time to reflect on what "real" Christmas decorations meant in the eyes of my child. She believed we had the best looking tree, and I couldn't have agreed more. What you don't have, or, what you do have, does set one apart from others. That Christmas, we were set apart because of what we did have.
