You may remember during my first year at Hurstbourne Christian I wrote a Reece’s Peace’s about how I could never keep a plant alive in my office. No matter how much I tried, every plant I bought died. I wrote that Reece’s Peace’s after the bonsai tree my sister gave to me died. I somehow killed it in just three months. Its death was a real point of disappointment. I enjoyed seeing the little tree and I wished so badly to have something living that I could keep in my office. I wanted something to look at on long days.

Well, I'm happy to report I have living plants in my office. As of the moment I’m writing this, I have no less than three living potted plants. I have one plant, a hardy Yuka, that is almost 6 feet tall. I have another, a flowering paperwhite amaryllis, which always brightens my day. Then I have my little fuzzy guy. I don’t know what type of plant he is, but he seems to be doing well. He has doubled in size over the last year. When I look up from my desk I see a forest!

I never thought I would see the day that I could keep not only one plant alive, but have three plants that are thriving! It is striking is how quickly, in a matter of just two years, the greenery in my office has been able to change. I think that's a good metaphor for this year in general. As 2020 comes to a close we get to look forward to 2021. We get to look forward to the Messiah who will come on Christmas Day. It's not as if all of our problems will be wiped away immediately come January, but I think this Christmas can be seen as a starting over point for our lives. Christmas can be the time when we go from death, like my sister’s bonsai, to life, like the forest in my office today.