From brokenness to beauty: My 60th year and the Christmas wreath that still speaks of God’s love

Writer Faye Smith reflects on the Christmas wreath that has accompanied her through love, loss, and renewal. As she nears 60, its symbolism speaks again of faith, resilience, and everlasting hope.

I will be 60 next birthday. I have held onto almost nothing from my 20-year marriage, but every year I put my Christmas wreath - the one last symbol from our marriage - on my door on 1st December. One of my bridesmaids once carried it down the aisle on my wedding day, and it reminds me of the love once shared that produced my two beloved children.

Its evergreens speak of resurrection, the hope that in the bleakness of winter, all is not dead. The berries remind us of the sacrifice Jesus made for us, loving us to the cruellest death, and the circle reminds us of God’s everlasting love for every single one of us his children, however and whoever we are. Commitment. Covenant. Sacrifice. To me, despite the pain of the past, that’s still a symbol worth sharing.