Trust of the Tree
Being trapped indoors on this blustery rainy day was a needed pause from the hectic schedule I had created for myself after getting the big black boot off my broken leg. From where I was sitting and studying, I could see out the back window and periodically the swaying of the trees would catch my eye. They swayed back and forth, and back and forth, as the wind bent them ever so slightly, but maintained a stature of solid trust: trust in the age-old root system, trust in the flexibility of the branches, and trust in the changing of seasons.
Leaves were blowing in autumn fashion
as the winds plucked them from the branches and sent them spinning into the air before landing on the rain-soaked ground in piles. You would think
that the tree could keep its leaves as shelter for the winter months, huh? But
God has so designed that all the leaves will fall off - one by one by one – until
every leaf has fallen, and the tree will stand barren and bleak throughout the
cold winter days. But the tree does not despair. Oh the trust of the tree.
“A tree
says: My strength is trust. I know nothing about my fathers, I know nothing
about the thousand children that every year spring out of me. I live out the
secret of my seed to the very end, and I care for nothing else. I trust that
God is in me. I trust that my labor is holy. Out of this trust I live.” Hermann Hesse, Baume, Betrachtungen and Gedichte
A massive pecan tree in our
backyard has stood tall and strong for many winters. Even with its great height and reach, and its age of a century and a half, the fall and winter seasons continue to strip the massive pecan of every leaf. And it stands strong and waits… It has a deep-rooted trust that once the winter season has passed, it will again spring
forth with the glorious greenery that is refreshing and full of life. The birds and creatures will return to build
their nests and the coolness of the foliage will become their sanctuary.
There have been times when I have felt stripped and barren like my life was in a fall season, followed by a harsh winter without any break between. Getting a diagnosis of cancer started the crisp and relentless winds of fall. Chemotherapy treatments stripped me of leaves. Surgeries one after the other stripped more leaves. Side effects of chemotherapy left me without a hair – more leaves fell. Radiation treatments took away my energy – that finished off the leaves. Then I was in winter feeling barren like the tree that stands stark against the winter sky with the twinkle of the stars peeking between each branch. But… spring was coming! Having His Word hidden in my heart as I had been instructed as a child gave me deep-rooted trust that my leaves would return and my tree would stand tall and green as before. And even more, my trust would be stronger than ever and I would have grown.
It is known that trees continue to grow even in winter. And it is in those winter months that the tree
sends down deeper roots so that it can stand taller and endure stronger winds
and storms that will test it when it once again bears the weight of new leaves and new branches.
Psalm
52:8 “But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever
and ever.”
Jeremiah
17:7, “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in
Him.”
