I read this earlier today and it made me think of all of you.
One Florida man may not be singing “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” this season — and all because of a Christmas tree.
A 37-year-old man, who lives with his parents, was arrested on a felony assault charge after he used a Christmas tree as a weapon in an attempted attack on his father, according to a sheriff’s report.
According to an arrest report, the man lost his temper and threw a 3-foot-tall Christmas tree at his father. The tree missed, but the son then tried to use the steel base from the tree to strike his father.
His father and mother were able to grab his arms to prevent the attack, which the report said could have caused serious injuries because the metal base weighs about 5 pounds.
The son denied trying to strike his father; no reason for the attack was given (Sarasota Herald Tribune, 12-2-08).
We sometimes think that we are the only ones who suffer through embarrassing things like this but in reality it is the norm and not the exception. As I work each day and minister among people, I hear stories that just make me want to scream for them and then I have stories of my own. We all live in a sin cursed world and among people who have a sin nature. Bad things happen. People don’t always make wise choices. It is sad when people make bad choices and it affects us as much as it does them, but then that is love. If we didn’t love them, they would be all alone.
I can’t explain these crazy things that most of us try and hide and act as if everything is OK in our family but I can say that you never have to feel like you need to hide. There is power in getting things out into the light. I am a good listener and will never judge you.
Never forget that we are in this together.
Ronnie