Hayden fruit tree 2012

I volunteered to make a fruit salad for Hayden's class Christmas party.  He thought it was boring to just take a bowl of fruit so we hunted online for something fun to make.  I saw some pictures of fruit "Christmas trees" and I have a tree shaped cookie pan, so we decided to try that.

This was what we came up with using grapes that we cut in half for the tree, mandarin oranges for the garland, red raspberries for the ornaments, and a pineapple cut into a star.  I think it turned out fantastic!

Because I knew this little tree wouldn't feed twenty-four 2nd graders, I sent in a bowl of fruit salad too.

I'm thinking at this point that I've scored huge points with Hayden and I was the coolest mom ever :)

Hayden was so excited to take his tree to school and share it with his friends.  Nothing could ruin his day.

Or so I thought.  Turns out his teacher doesn't consider her students feelings before she makes dumb decisions.  She felt that the bowl of fruit salad I sent in would be more than sufficient for her class so proceeded to take Hayden's fruit tree to the classroom next door that didn't have as many snacks brought in for their party.  While a part of me was glad that what we provided was able to be put to good use, Hayden was so upset that she gave his tree away and he wasn't able to share it with his friends.

As sad as a moment that was for me when he told me this after school, I knew I had to comfort him while also making sure to make our conversation a teaching moment.  I told him that as Christians, we are sometimes asked by God to give up something we love very much or want to keep just for ourselves or our close friends.  We talked about how much God loved us and that He gave us His only Son so that we could be saved and one day live in Heaven with Him.  I told Hayden that this surely made God sad, but He was willing to do it to help us.  I explained that I knew having his fruit tree given to the other class made him sad, but he should be glad that his treat was able to be shared with another class that didn't have as many treats as his class did.  He understood and said he was sure the other class liked it as much as his friends would have.

I'm hopeful that something was learned that day and grateful that God provides experiences and circumstances where we can apply lessons from a Christian perspective.