Good Enough Can Be Wondrous

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The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light.  John 1:5

                                                   

Two large black dogs and one Christmas tree.

After years of our dogs using our artificial Christmas tree as a back scratcher and chew toy, we could no longer fluff or wire it back into a presentable shape.  It was past time for a new one, but shopping in the pandemic felt daunting. When I happened to see a floor model discounted to half off, I grabbed it. The sales person assured me the lights worked even though there was no electrical outlet to check. It was not as tall or as "real" as I had wanted, but it was cheap and available. Sold.  

When we drug the already assembled tree out of my SUV and into the living room, the family responded much the way I had ---eh, it's ok, not great, but at least we have one. Good enough. Done is better than perfect. Besides we have already seen this poor tree's tragic future. Why spend a fortune, when our 10-month-old Great Dane/Lab will likely destroy it.    

When my husband plugged in the lights, they zapped like a 1970s disco ball, with shots of color firing across the room.  "Make that stop," we cried. Another push of the button offered a different but equally shocking variation of lights.  Due to the tree's obvious lack of dignity and stature, I lamented, "I'll have to return it." But then Gray pushed the button again and the  lights gently faded from white to vibrant colors.  Collectively we gasped in awe. In a split second, the "too small, -eh, good-enough, oh-no shockingly horrible" tree, was transformed.  "Let's keep this one," our daughters exclaimed.  With some more button pushing, we learned the lights could be set simply to white or color.  "How cool is that?' we delighted  (Yes, we are hard pressed for entertainment these days.) We spent the better part of the evening mesmerized by its calming glow. In the quiet of the moment, I realized we would not have savored this wonder in "normal" times.  We would put up the tree, check the task off our Christmas list, and moved onto to the next. 

Admittedly, I am a reluctant student, but the pandemic still teaches me to slow down to fully appreciate things that are "good enough." For now, we may have to declare something, "-eh, good enough," but if we give it half a chance, we might be startled by unexpected beauty and joy.  Mary and Joseph and the shepherds were startled by divine wonder hidden in a "good enough" manger.  May God light our path so we can find our way through the darkness to unexpected joy.   



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