By Ralphine Major

The day has come and gone. Finally! The long-awaited holiday prompting months of preparation is finally over. Gifts have been unwrapped. Decorated trees have been taken down. Nativity scenes with a baby in a manger have been packed away for another year. Christmas is over. Really?

This year, the Sunday School classes, also known as Connect Groups, created a winter wonderland in the atrium at Wallace Memorial. Hallways and balconies became a winter wonderland. Numerous trees with different themes added a festive touch. An unusual display caught my eye as I exited the sanctuary. Titled “The Other Tree,” it brought to mind the reading of “This Tree, That Tree” that was a part of the first Living Christmas Tree program I saw more than forty years ago at Wallace. The lights on the huge Christmas tree faded out until only the lights of a cross could be seen.

“The Other Tree” was all red and green with a crown of thorns at the top. Green symbolizes new life; red, the blood of Christ. It was a reminder that the Christmas story did not end with the birth of Christ in Bethlehem. Rather, it would be the beginning of everlasting life for all who believe that Christ died for our sins. A gift of eternal life. The day we celebrate Christmas with all the festivities among family and friends may have ended, but Christmas will never be over. John 3:16 (KJV) assures us of that: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Happy New Year!