Christmas Angel

Every year when we decorate our Christmas tree, I love to think back on the history of each ornament as I hang it on the tree. Where did it come from? Who gave it to us? What's the story behind it?

Some of them are beautiful, commercially made ornaments. They make the tree sparkle and glitter. Some are handmade and they bring that special warm feeling to the whole tree. I love them all because they tell a story about our family and our years together.

But there is one ornament that makes me smile every year when we put it on the tree. Some people might wonder why we even put it up; why we haven't bought something a little more elegant for this place of honor. You see, on the very top of our tree sits an angel...an angel made from a paper plate, aluminum foil and glitter. And she's the most beautiful angel I've ever seen.

Our paper plate angel was crafted by our daughter's tiny hands before she even started school. It was a Sunday school project that she presented to us with such pride! Of course it went on the top of our tree that first year. We certainly didn't know that it would have that place of honor nearly 20 years later. But there she sits, often tilting just a bit on the top of our tree, but as beautiful as ever.

It's not the paper plate or the foil or the glitter that I see. Instead, it's the sweet little hands that crafted her. She is a work of art! And no one else has one just like her. And that goes for the angel too!