For as long as I've been married (40+years!) and had my own family Christmas tree, It's been topped by this "ugly" plastic star that had adorned the tree when I was a kid. I figure it's got to be near 70 years old. (I'm much younger of course, but I figure the parents must have had it for years before I was born.) I remember my dad and I picking out a live tree and his stringing the lights when we got it home. All in all some very sweet memories and since I was the "last to leave" when a big tree became too much for them to handle, I got the star. A treasure, ugly or not. But over the years the attachment part broke and my industrious husband applied one "band-aid" after another to keep it going. Then this year we decided it just wouldn't do. The night-light attachment to keep it lit was heavy and the plastic star just couldn't stay put.
     With some sadness I bought a replacement star this year, but lovingly placed the antique one in my china cabinet with other Christmas decorations. End of story? Not at all. Because today a routine trip to the hardware store yielded a solution. (Aka small miracle?) In the Christmas decorations department, my husband spotted this single light at the end of a cord. He suggested we try it on the old star! Despite some alterations he'd had to do on our artificial treetop to accommodate the new star, he persevered. With several trips to his workshop, he got the old family star attached! I was standing back, keeping my hopes tamped down in case it didn't work. but of course it did. When he stepped away from the tree and I saw my star back where it belonged, tears filled my eyes. Of course I gave the hubby a kiss and told him he is wonderful. (He really is!) 
     Connections like this-- to my family, my parents, and my past are treasures for sure. This little Christmas miracle just underscores how little blessings can mean so much. I have to believe my mom and dad would have loved to see this unfold. Hey, who's to say they didn't?