It was time to get back to work following a closed head injury. I thought everything was going well and my simple concussion was resolved. Oh, if I only knew what was yet to come. So by Monday November 4, 1991 and 5 days later I was ready to return to work. After all a few days have passed since I was hit in the head and certainly there should not be any reason to keep me from working.
He could see naught but vanity in beauty,
And naught but weakness in a fond caress,
And pitied men whose views of Christian duty
Allowed indulgence in such foolishness.
Josiah Gilbert Holland, Daniel Gray, stanza 9
Sweet Indulgence
But . . . but . . . but . . . God carresses the earth with beauty every Spring! David Gray maybe never stuck his nose into a lovely collection of spring beauties, suppose?
Some trees, like some people, use the wounds of their past to shape them for sheltering. They grow to have room in their hearts for all and that certain open-armed welcome you just know you will need someday.
Others go on to be more nurturing. They serve and give generously, providing those who come to them with nothing less than plenty. We will look at some of those types of trees, today.
Drink it Down
And, although these trees offer tantalizing refreshments, let us not forget the harm they endured to become what they are:
For Larger Storage
It can be hard to imagine how these trees must have looked when they were going through all this scarring and the needed recovery, but now they look inviting, as if something special might be happening in their lives.
We have a lot of dead trees after last summer’s drought and have been marking them for a sale. Since I was keeping the tally while someone else did all the work, I could spend time looking around. I have seen a LOT of trees.
Some of these poor things are real troopers and remind me of myself and some of my friends. They have been wounded down near their bases by ice storms, insects, buck deer, and other invaders of their quiet domain. I wonder if I am imagining things here, or if others can see themselves in these trees, too.
This first type is the sheltering type:
Tiny Home Down Stairs
This tree will never make fine furniture grade. It is a humble, struggling entity, but has a spot to share with any other humble, struggling entity. Can’t you imagine a wee mouse family finding comfort here?
Tunnel Down to Safety
Here is another. Don’t you love the way this tree, though obviously dealt a heavy blow in early life, has risen to the occasion by developing an upward-reaching lifestyle in non-standard ways? It ‘s almost like a life motto: Always reach up!
And because of their flaws, they will never be part of a paladian palace. They may not even possess health enough to live as long as other trees.
But they do make a grand shelter from a snowy wind.
Down Spout
This one is similar, but look: Perhaps it was a bit older when it’s down days came, or the damage was heavier, but this one is able not only to help a bit larger creature, but also to provide guaranteed dryness during storms. Who couldn’t use a friend like that!
But here is my favorite:
Drama Queen
I knew I remembered this one and looked a long time to find it for you. I named it “Drama Queen” because of that look of surprise all over it. I imagine a friend I normally would not hang with a lot, because she is loud and pushy. Yet, I know I am safe with her and if I needed anything, big or small, she would be so glad to help me, to draw me in with what might seem like five or six arms, and would have a large base of resources to draw from.
Wounded? Yes, they all are.
Fine, straight, high dollar? Nope.
Just invaluable to someone and absolutely necessary in this ol’ life.
Looking into this clear stream and viewing the pebbles on the sand so surprised me. I seldom think on how much is hiding below the water, below the surface.
How easy to notice the reflection of glorious cloud billows and soaring trees, shimmering on the surface! How delightful the sparkles that wink into view and then dance away!
How common to love the outward appearance of the stream.
But to look down, to concentrate on what’s beyond the first impression, to stare deeply at what makes the stream a stream–that is like God.
When, upon looking, we find courser things such as mud, sand, dead leaves, gravel, what then?
Why! Then, elevating! Elevating grit and pebbles to positions of great importance!
For without them lying still, working their quiet work, the dancing sparkles become quagmire.
Home's Cool! 