The Memory Tree - A Christmas Story By Charlie Liebert

Christmas 1922

The house on Elm Street had just been finished when Charlotte turned six. First grade was not as much fun as Kindergarten but school was OK, besides today was the last day before Christmas vacation. She opened the front door and went in. The smell of the fresh paint was still very strong.

"I'm home, mom."

No one answered, but dad came out of the kitchen. He shouldn't be home now, it's much too early, she thought. She knew as soon as she saw him that something was wrong. He never had been able to hide his emotions well.

"I have something sad to tell you, Charlotte." He drew a long breath and said, "Grandpa died this afternoon and we're all very sad."

Oh NO! The one who had been her very best friend, except for cousin Betty and Sarah, was not going to play with her any more. Death had real meaning to her ever since Fuzzy the rabbit died during the summer vacation. She went to her room and cried for what seemed like a long time. Fuzzy hadn't come back and Grandpa wouldn't either. She thought maybe she'd run away. Dad came in and took her hand.

"We're not going to decorate the Christmas tree this year, Charlotte, but since we've already dug the tree, we're going to plant it in the back yard in memory of grandpa."

In the back yard, I can see it all the time, she thought.

Digging the Christmas tree from Mr. Sawyer's farm had been a family tradition for generations. Most of the time when the trees were replanted on his land after Christmas they died, but occasionally one did survive and grow to be harvested for lumber. But this tree is going to be planted in my back yard, down by the lake she thought.

The tree was planted the next day and Charlotte went to see it each day to see if it would live. At first it looked weak but by the time Christmas Eve came, it began to look stronger. Charlotte went out just as it was getting dark and looked at the tree. As she looked, the words of Grandpa, from last Christmas Eve, came back to her.

"Jesus came as a baby to visit us and to set us free from ourselves," he had said. "We are all in need of Jesus to bring us to God. You need him too Charlotte." She didn't think she did then, but now she realized that He was the one she needed most. The tree almost seemed to reach out to her as she prayed, "Jesus I need you just like Grandpa said."

Christmas 1948

"Just one week left before Christmas," Ruth said to Barry. Ruth had turned five in November and she loved to excite her younger brother who would be three in January. Quite predictably he got very excited and ran to his mother and shouted, "Mama it's only one week to Christmas."

"Yes, Yes, I know," Charlotte said. She was standing at the kitchen window looking into the back yard. The wind was pushing the rain until it appeared to be almost raining sideways. Grandpa's tree was swaying in the wind and she remembered that day so long ago when they had planted it. That Christmas Eve when she had begun to walk with Jesus seemed so long ago. So much had happened, yet Grandpa's memory was just as fresh now as it had been then. Every time, she looked at the tree his words came back to her; "We are all in need of Jesus to bring us to God. You need him too Charlotte." The years had been good to them. Harry was a wonderful husband and someday he would know Jesus too. Every time she talked to Harry about Jesus he turned away from her. Yet, he always let her share with the children at Christmas about the memory tree, and how Grandpa loved Jesus so much.

As Barry tugged at her skirt her mind came back to today. There was so much yet to do, shopping, baking, cleaning, so many things. She just stopped to thank the Lord in her mind for all the blessings she had.

She looked back out into the yard. As she watched the memory tree appeared to split into two pieces and come crashing down onto the fence. "Harry," she shouted, "grandpa's tree just fell."

Harry quickly came out of the den and looked out the window with her. "We'll have to cut it up for fire wood but we can't do anything until the rain stops."

Both children ran out the back door toward the tree, but at the sound of their mother's voice they turned and hurried back into the house, dripping water all over the rug. The water on the rug didn't bother her as she thought, how would she talk about Jesus in the years to come if the tree wasn't there? There wasn't much they could do now, so she went back to the kitchen.

She finished in the kitchen, called the children together and told them; "Your father and I need to do some shopping, so we'll go out for a short time. Aunt Betty will stay with you until we come back." Betty had said she would be there by two o'clock but it was already 2:30 when the doorbell rang. Both children shouted with glee as they ran to the door. "Aunt Betty, aunt Betty, Grandpa's tree fell!" Ruth shouted. "Yea it fell all the way down." Barry added.

Charlotte would usually drive, but today Harry wanted to because the weather was so bad. He backed the car down the driveway and into the street. Ruth and Barry watched from the front window as they went down the street. Elm Street took a sharp turn down the hill to Main. As Harry approached the intersection the rain intensified so he could hardly see. He slowed but decided to cross Main Street without stopping, since he saw no one coming. Charlotte shouted; "Harry!" Just as the truck appeared out of the rain.

Harry awoke slowly and was aware of being wet and some hands on his shoulder. The awful pain in his back and head made everything seem fuzzy. He heard someone say, "This one's still alive, but the woman's dead."

The next thing he was aware of were the bright lights all around him. He heard another voice say, "Bring the anesthesia quickly he's coming around." The lights grew dim and then went out.

Betty was in the den with the children when the doorbell rang. That's funny she thought, Charlotte and Harry would usually come right in. They must be loaded down with packages. As she turned the corner to go to the front door she caught a glance of the blue uniform waiting at the door. She opened the door. It was Kelly O'Brien, Harry's friend. "Harry's not here..." She started to say when she realized that Kelly had tears in his eyes. "Can I come in, I have to talk to you right now," Kelly said. "Is something wrong?" "Very wrong, there's been an accident and Harry is badly injured. He's in the hospital and they are doing emergency surgery right now."

She turned very pale and started to cry, "What about Charlotte?"

Kelly's face turned even more serious and he started to cry, "Charlotte is dead," he sobbed.

While Harry was in the hospital the new neighbor that had moved in next-door cut the tree into firewood and stacked it next to the back fence. When Harry came home in March the children still didn't seem to understand that their mother Charlotte, was not coming home again. As spring started to come, a tiny shoot poked its head above ground right next to the stump of the memory tree. At first, Harry's bitterness made him want to move, but the children and the support of Betty and her husband finally changed his mind. They would stay on Elm Street.

Harry would often wake up at night and think about Charlotte and how she used to tell about Grandpa, the tree and how he loved Jesus. Charlotte had talked to him often about Jesus but he wasn't interested. Now his bitterness made Jesus seem to be some ridiculous joke. How could a God that loves us let Charlotte die? Besides, there was much to do with the children and all the work of the store. The new tree continued to grow in the place of the one that had fallen.

Christmas 1976

Ruth and Charlie, Barry and Emily would soon be here with all six grandchildren. Betty had finished all the preparations for the Christmas dinner and the house on Elm Street was filled with wonderful smells. Each year at this time Harry's mind would go back to that rainy afternoon in 1948 when his whole world had caved in. He could almost hear Charlotte telling the children about the tree and Grandpa and how he loved Jesus. The tree that had sprung up when the old tree had fallen down was now almost as big as the tree had been on that day so long ago.

Harry had often looked for the answer to why Charlotte had died, but no one had ever been able to give him an answer he could accept. And now it was Christmas again and all the old pain came back. This year it was going to be different.

Harry had decided to tell all six grandchildren about the memory tree.

He began to tell the story of their great great Grandpa who loved Jesus and how their grandmother Charlotte had planted the tree in his memory. Then the tree had fallen down just before Charlotte died and now a new tree had grown in its place. As he told the story he thought, in order for the new tree to grow the old tree had to die.

"Why did one have to die for the other to live?" He asked the children, unsure himself of the answer. All the bitterness of all the years seemed to come back suddenly and he began to feel tears well up in his eyes.

"That's what Charlotte said, 'He had to die to give us life,'" he almost shouted. He now understood that the tree had a message for him all along. All these years he hadn't seen it. Jesus had to die so we could live. We couldn't sacrifice ourselves, we weren't worthy, but He was. Now it was all clear, Jesus had died to give him life. "O Lord how could I have been so blind!! I need you Jesus," he thought. Harry's life began to change immediately now that he had Jesus.

In May, just after Richard and Ethyl Slazer had moved in next door to "old man Harry," as he was known in the neighborhood, they came over to meet him. After they introduced themselves Richard said, "That pine tree in your back yard, we would like to cut it down because it blocks our view of the lake." At first Harry was almost angry, then he realized it was just a tree. But it had shown him the way to Jesus.

"It's OK to cut it down, but first let me tell you about what that tree taught me." As he related the story of the tree they became increasingly quiet until both of them had tears in their eyes. Harry introduced them to their newfound friend Jesus, and they both cried as they met Him.

"We can never cut that tree down, knowing what it means to you, and now it means so much to us too." Ethyl said as they left to go home.

Christmas 1986

Harry lay in the bed overlooking the back yard. The tree was now old like him and ready to die. The last ten years had been good to him and he had many chances to share Jesus with people. But now the end was almost here. It looked like another winter storm. The wind was blowing and it looked like rain. Just as Harry breathed in his last breath, the wind picked up and the tree cracked at the base and fell into the Slazer's yard. Harry entered into the presence of the Lord Jesus.

Richard Slazer was reading in John when he heard the tree fall. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit." He got up from his chair and went out in the yard to look at the fallen tree. As he looked at the base where it had cracked he noticed a tiny branch poking it's head up through the soil right next to the broken stump.

Perhaps a new tree will grow in its place, he thought, as he hurried in to escape the coming storm.

Copyright 1992 - Reprint by permission only.
Charlie Liebert, 5 Great Castle Court, Greensboro, N.C. 27455 (910) 288-7935