A Christmas Ornament

At first glance, you may look at this little Christmas ornament and think, "Good lord, Zierath. Why do you keep such a banged up old ornament?" It's certainly a fair question. This used to be a little elf dude. He had a long nose, eyes, feet, a beard, a feather in his cap, and a vest. All that's left are a pair of bent up old glasses and the felt hat, and the string to hang it up on the tree.

There are a number of reasons I have kept this poor beat up little ornament. One is that this is one of a pair that my Aunt Trish made for my brother and I. I think Maz still has the other one. I don't get to see Aunt Trish very often - once every couple or three years, but I love her dearly, and so all the ornaments she gave me are treasured Christmas items.

The second is that this poor little ornament was left on the tree one year when I was in middle school. We took the tree out to the curb, never knowing this little guy was still on it. When they picked the tree up, the elf fell off. We didn't find him then. Months went by. The snow melted. We still didn't find him. It wasn't until I was mowing the lawn I found him. The glasses glinted the sun, and I stopped the mower and I picked him up.

Now, I am a very sentimental man, and I look for lessons where ever I go. What lesson can this beat up old ornament give?

Perseverance. Never give up. Never surrender. You can be beat down, dropped into the curb, run over by a lawn mower, and still have a place of honor on a Christmas tree. Even when I feel beat down, I have faith that my friends and family still have a place in their hearts for me and will continue to encourage me, just as I always intend on encouraging them, especially in their 'longshot' dreams.