the Red Pinecone Ornament

I want to tell you a story. It's a story of Christmas hope.

When my mom was a girl, their prized Christmas decoration was a red pinecone ornament. It was so well-loved over the years that the red had actually turned sort of brown. Every year, just as some families place the tree topper on very last, the Riley family hung the red pinecone on the tree as the final touch.

When my mom was very young, they went to a movie as a family and they came home to discover their house had suffered a devastating fire in their absence. It was destroyed. The only item my mother remembers salvaging was their special pinecone, now a miraculous symbol of hope and love and renewal.

My grandmother died over a decade ago and when she died she willed the ornament to her youngest daughter, my mom's little sister. My mom has been wondering the whereabouts of it recently and had hoped it was being taken care of. She wanted the story surrounding it to be preserved.

That aunt of mine in Pennsylvania contacted my mom to tell her that someone recently cut the lock on her storage unit and stole most of her belongings, including all her Christmas decorations. How devastating a loss! But then she told my mom...somehow, that little pinecone must have fallen out of its box because it was left behind. Of no value to the burgler, one would never know the significance of that Christmas symbol to the Rileys.

On Sunday we had a special Family Home Evening with my parents. My mom told us this amazing story and presented each of us with our own red pinecone for our trees. It is my new favorite ornament, and I have a LOT of nostalgia on my tree.

I wanted to pass this along to any of you who read my blog so that you may know that you are known by our Heavenly Father. He is aware of you and the happenings in your life, just as he notices each sparrow's fall. Christmas is a reminder of that love and care. I hope you have a merry one.