January 10 – “Undecking the halls”

Last night we attacked that dreaded yet necessary part of the holiday season – putting it all away.  We did that here at home already.  Last night it was time to do it at church.  I announced the grand event at Sunday morning worship, but honestly I didn't really expect many to come.  That's not a bad thing, though.  Sometimes it's easier to get things done quicker if there are fewer people there.  The problem was, I didn't know what to call it.    When we put the decorations up we made a big deal out of it.  We invited people to bring Christmassy snacks and join together in a "Hanging of the Greens," a reference to the garland we inevitably hang near the ceiling of the worship area.  There is always a fairly small, and usually quite fun group.  But what do you call it when all you're doing is tearing stuff down, putting it away, and vacuuming the floor?  I was struggling through that quandary while trying to announce it, when one of our kids piped up on the back row, "How about calling it "Undecking the Halls"?  I like it.   I inherited the responsibility for getting the garland and the icicle lights down from the ceiling.  How hard could it be?  All I had to do was grab one end and walk around the room pulling, right?  That worked on the part where we rigged up bent paper clips to hold the wires up.  But I still had to crawl up on a stool to pull the paper clips out.  And I totally forgot about the special made clips that Ned found back when we were putting the lights and garland up.  They weren't going anywhere, so I had to get right up there next to them to unhook things.  I did use a ladder for some of the places, but it was a lot easier to just stand on my stool.  Glad Chris wasn't in there.   Speaking of Chris, she took charge of the Christmas tree in the foyer.  One of the ladies from the Experiencing God study stuck around to help her.  As did the girl who named the whole event.  McKenna has been at the Hanging of the Greens every year, so I was glad to see her last night.  And she brought along some chocolate covered pretzels that she and her Mom made.  Always a plus.  And McKenna was a lot of fun.  She helped Chris undecorated the tree, and then came in where I was and entertained me.  She modeled her new look called "Draped in Tinsel."  I'm sure it's all the rage.  I was inspired, so at the first opportune moment when she wasn't looking I draped her in garland as well.   When we finished with the lights and garland, I noticed that there was still a nativity scene set out.  Chris said it was like a jigsaw puzzle trying to figure out where each piece fit into the Styrofoam, so she had given up.  I asked McKenna to see if she could put it away, and I moved over to gather up the lights off the floor – not so far away, though, that I couldn't hear the running conversation McKenna was having with the figures.  "Mary you have to fit right in here somehow.  Cow, this is your spot.  Baby you have to go here."  She got several in right away, but the others were proving to be a bit of a challenge.  Finally, I heard her frustration seep out when she disgustedly spoke to one of the three kings, "If you're so wise, why don't you figure out where you belong?"   Psalms 3:3-4 says, "But you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.  To the Lord I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill."   Father, thank you for the answers you give that come as often from the mouths of children as from sages.  Amen.