It’s that time of year again where I climb 20 feet up and watch the sun come up.  I watch a lot of sunrises these days than years past, but the ones 20 feet up just seem better.  It’s Christmas Eve and our boys are here with me in their own trees.  By now my bride is at work with her mask and face shield on doing her best to care for others.  The other day I volunteered to go shopping for her since she has been working extra hours.  A big step for a simple man who does not like crowds or shopping especially days before Christmas.  As I sat in the parking lot that was very full, I told myself “You can do this.”  It’s not really the crowds I fear, it’s the way some people can suck the life out of you. The life that keeps you positive about our society and our hope we are still one nation under God.

The store was packed and as I navigated my cart through the aisles like a modified gone wrong NASCAR race. I used my manners, eye contact, and smile to let them all know I am a man with hope.  By the time I reached the checkout I said under my breath, ‘Where is the Jesus in that?” Though I am confident in my lifetime a few have said the same about me, I continue to be a work in progress. As I unloaded the groceries in the house it was all worth it when my bride said, “thank you for doing that”.

On this Christmas Eve as you rush to wrap, cuss, fuss, laugh, and we hope to love.  The simple man in the tree would like to give you a gift from a 14-year-old boy who wrote an assignment for school. I saw it on the kitchen counter one morning before school.  Many times, as a parent and teacher I feel I have failed our boys and my students.  We talk a lot in book three* about the importance of having a system to process life.  I realized by what our youngest wrote we had successfully guided him to the system that works for him.

Lyric

I wake up in the morning I got hunting on my mind

I come to the cabin and I tell my Daddy what I find

I told him that this feeling is something I can’t explain

It is all my love for the woods where I release my pain

And also I love to fish to relieve stress on the bank

The water and the rod in my hand

It feels like I can stand

That feeling to crank

It’s the love for God’s creation and freedom

All the self-doubt just goes away

When you have kids you need to pass it on

God is giving you a doorway

Sitting in a tree to me is peaceful

When I am walking down the trail and I am powerful

Some people might think this is wrong

But this is where I belong

From The Roadmap Company, which is a family that sits in trees, a friend behind a computer, another friend (wish she was my sister) who helps my writings look like I went to school, and a Dr who cares, we wish you a Merry Christmas.  Holidays can be hard on the mind and soul.  Feel free to take a deep breath and say, “Where is the Jesus in that?” and then add some Jesus to the mix!

The above was not edited by the friend/adopted sister. 

*Book three refers to the third book in the Crucial Moments book series titled “Transition Man” by Dr Jeffrey Mitchell and Josey. It can be found here