Yesterday afternoon, Timmy and I experienced an unexpected moment of joy. It was unexpected because we were driving on route 495 in the pouring rain. There’s nothing joyful about 495, especially when it’s under construction.
495 bothers me because it’s tight, pot-holed and loaded with big trucks. When the weather is lousy, like it was yesterday, 495 is a pit. It seems every day an oversized truck carrying a wide load slows me down by breeching the white line border.
Yesterday afternoon was no exception. I had the misfortune of merging onto the highway directly behind one of these trucks. As soon as the lanes widened, I took the opportunity to pass the road hog. Sheets of rain pounded my minivan, causing me to pass at a slower rate than usual. The truck was really long, so it took longer than expected to complete my mission.
And I’m glad it did.
Because in those brief moments, Timmy and I noticed that the truck we were passing was no ordinary truck. It was carrying an enormous Christmas tree. But it wasn’t any Christmas tree. It was a 60 year-old 6,000 pound, 45 foot white spruce. It was the Boston Common Christmas Tree. How did we know? A blue banner stretched across the truck: “The Nova Scotia Tree for Boston.” I tapped the brake pedal ever so slightly to extend our precious little time driving by this majestic tree. I pointed with my right hand to show Timmy the length of tree and the size of its trunk. Then I smiled at the driver, a guy named David MacFarlane, who has been delivering the Nova Scotia tree to Boston for the last seven years. He sensed our joy over the tree because he responded with a generous, nodding grin. Clearly, we weren’t the first people on the road to get excited over the tree.
I couldn’t believe how a brief encounter with the Nova Scotia tree changed our drive and let’s face it…my dismal attitude about our drive.
After we completed our pass, Timmy asked how much that tree cost the city of Boston. (He’s going through a “how much does that cost?” phase). He was surprised by the answer: Nothing. For the last 48 years, it’s been given as a gift of gratitude to the city of Boston for their help during the 1917 Halifax Harbor explosion. More than 2,000 people died when a ship carrying explosives caught fire. Thousands more were injured. Boston sent people and aid to the devastated city.
The Nova Scotia tree will be erected on Boston Common on December 5th. Maybe you’ll see it this season—decorated and beaming with light. And, maybe it will remind you that in this season of giving gifts and giving thanks, God gave us the gift of his son. He sent him to rescue us because we were devasted by our own sin. Don’t pass by this free gift this season. An encounter with Jesus will change you forever. Hit the brakes and take in the magnitude and majesty of the gift: Jesus.