Thursday, April 29, 2010

the taller tree (tree story #68)



I was in China on a mission. One of the many things we did on this adventure was meet at this small tea house for something called English Corner. English Corner was a chance for some of the locals to come in and practice their English with those who were fluent. I got a chance to hold a conversation with an older Chinese woman who happened to be a single mother of one little girl. During our conversation she seemed to not only be able to practice her English with me but started to open up to me about what was currently stressing her. She was sad for her daughter. She had noticed that her daughter of eight years old had begun to develop a strong artistic talent. The little girl wanted so bad to be an artist and she constantly practiced her creativity at home and in school. What saddened the mother was that this was not acceptable in their culture. Her family was against it, the school was against it and the little girl’s friends made fun of her. The lady then explained that in this place it is not acceptable to be the taller tree. That everyone must be on the same plane as everyone else. The little girl was not allowed to branch out, she must remained pruned back. Her daughter was a tree that could not become the full majesty that she was created to be. She wished so bad that she could send her daughter to America where her daughter could grow among the shores of freedom. Ever since this conversation I realized how blessed I have been to grow in a place that encourages artistic growth. I pray for this girl even to this day. I even had a dream that she was able to finally grow beyond the trees next to her and become the height that God had planned for her talents. This tree story is dedicated to this little girl.

Jared Konopitski

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

under the shade (tree story #50)



One day the angel of God came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiesrite, whose son Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress, out of sight of the Midianites. The angel of God appeared to him and said, “God is with you, O mighty warrior!”
Gideon replied, “With me, my master? If God is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all the miracle-wonders our parents and grandparents told us about, telling us, ‘Didn’t God deliver us from Egypt?’ The fact is, God has nothing to do with us - he has turned us over to Midian.”
But God faced him directly: “Go in this strength that is yours. Save Israel from Midian. Haven’t I just sent you?”
Gideon said to him, “Me, my master? How and with what could I ever save Israel? Look at me. My clan’s the weakest in Manesseh and I’m the runt of the litter.”
God said to him, “I’ll be with you. Believe me, you’ll defeat Midian as one man.”
Gideon said, “If you’re serious about this, do me a favor: Give me a sign to back up what you’re telling me. Don’t leave until I come back and bring you my gift.”
He said, “I’ll wait till you get back.”
Gideon went and prepared a young goat and a huge amount of unraised bread (he used over half a bushel of flour!). He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot and took them back under the shade of the oak tree for a sacred meal.
The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and unraised bread, place them on the rock, and pour the broth on them.” Gideon did it.
The angel of God stretched out the tip of the stick he was holding and touched the meat and the bread. Fire broke out of the rock and burned up the meat and bread while the angel of God slipped away out of sight. And Gideon knew it was the angel of God!
Gideon said, “Oh no! Master, God! I have seen the angel of God face to face!”
But God reassured him, “Easy now. Don’t panic. You won’t die.”
Then Gideon built an altar there to God and named it “God’s Peace.” It’s still called that at Ophrah of Abiezer.

Judges 6

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

cast and reel (tree story #63)



I love the natural light
hitting the rolls of
the carelessly placed lake
as I cast and reel
and cast again.

And I’m sitting beneath
the netted branches of a tree
as it casts its immense limbs
out against me, reeling
me in closer and I move
ecstatic like a flopping fish
hooked by the natural light.

Kevin Eagan

Sunday, April 25, 2010

things we cannot see (tree story # 43)



Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed everyday. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

2 Corinthians 4: 16-18

Thursday, April 22, 2010

castle in they sky (tree story #42)



The little girl tugs on the man's sleeve and, with longing in her eyes pleads, "Please Daddy? Will you build me a tree house? I can go there to have tea parties with my dolls. And how fun to peek down on the tiny people on the ground!"

The man contemplates the tree as if through his daughter's eyes. What is childhood without a tree house? Could he ever live up to his title of “Daddy” if he were to push this request aside? Did he not ache for the same thing when he grew up in a suburban home that offered no hope of a castle in the sky?

Of course he will do it. The weekend is free to get started right away. Lumber is purchased, designs drawn, dad and daughter excited at the thought of seeing it built. The floor first. Maybe a roof next, but plan to protect the growing branches that burst forth from the rafters. And walls are a must. Those teacups need shelves to store them, and windows with lace curtains to waft in the breeze.

The little girl moves in right away, happy with just a floor. Her dolls can imagine the rest. Walls? Who needs walls when the sun offers the warmth and security that those very walls would block? Spring blossoms peek in the windows that do not even exist. She is content.

The pleasant seasons offer hours of escape in her tree house. Daddy visits, but the excitement of the building process is dampened by other duties, other projects, maybe another day?

Fall turns to winter. The leaves vacate the tree, as does the little girl.

Maybe next spring will be time enough to get to those important details: roof, walls, a rope to climb.

Then again, the little girl is growing. Tea parties and dolls may be stored away and replaced with more young womanly things. Maybe a tree house with no walls will offer her the freedom to grow without boxing her in.

Lisa Van Aken

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

jacob's ladder (tree story #39)



Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.

At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!”

The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”), although the name of the nearby village was Luz.

Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will certainly be my God. And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.”

Genesis 28:10-22

Monday, April 19, 2010

heaven (tree story #25)



“If a blind man momentarily gained his sight and described an actual tree that he saw, other blind people - especially if they lived in a world where everyone was blind - might automatically assume the tree was nonliteral, a mere symbol of spiritual reality. But they would be wrong. Likewise, we should not assume that the Bible describes Heaven in physical ways merely to accommodate us. It is fully possible that the present Heaven is a physical realm.”

Randy Alcorn, Heaven

Sunday, April 18, 2010

reunion (tree story #17)



Took a drive over to James’ and Janet’s property - some day a retirement home will be there - wandered around and talked of plans, admired views, this cluster of trees marks the property line at one point.

Back at Butch and Linda’s I set off to wander again. Little cousin Edie wants to come along, so I sit down by the naked ladies to wait for her to put her shoes on. Edie takes me for a walk and shows me the creek through the gate, just off the property. This is her grandparents’ house and she knows her way around pretty well - as well as any seven-year-old would. But I think Edie took me through poison - I hope not - I was watching her instead of watching out.

We wander back onto the property; Edie finds her brother’s long lost hat and her long lost doll. We camp out on the big rock outcropping I stopped at yesterday and I let her shoot a few frames on the Izone, I shoot a couple with the Land Camera. “Grandma and Grandpa’s woods” hold high adventure: Edie climbs a tree to fetch an old light switch plate made of clear blue plastic and adorned with silver glitter. Old treasures abound here.

The light is fading - I’m guessing it’s time to head back.

Judith Monroe, Wanderings journal

Saturday, April 17, 2010

endless battle (tree story #141)



Still it stands, the tree of life
holding its ground
struggling to survive the endless battle.

Still it comes, the mist of death
unleashing its powers
trying to win the endless battle.

Still there is, an equilibrium
balancing the scales
making sure there is an endless battle.

Still I wonder, could someone win
life or death, growth or decay
bringing an end to the endless battle.

Magnus Holmgren

Friday, April 16, 2010

beckoning path (tree story #22)



The weather has changed a lot these past two weeks - rains have come and gone and the creek is higher now. The plants and lower banks look as if they have been flooded lately, no doubts the waters rose during the storm. A couple small brown sparrow-type birds twit and hop among a pile of cut branches across the creek. I go a little farther away from the road, the sound of running water competes with the traffic noise. A crow passes overhead, calling out.

A couple smaller birds chit chit chit in the branches of trees while the beep beep beep of heavy construction calls out as well. Poking up from the dry horizontal straws rise a carpet of fat green short blades - rain here means green. I stop to make a photograph and I hear rustling noises in the tall dead growth next to the path I’m on. I’d love to look farther but my time is up...

Judith Monroe, Wanderings journal