Trees

Originally written this fall....

Standing at my kitchen window this morning, with a cup of coffee in my hand, I looked out at the spectacular fall colors.  As I stood there, a thought came to my mind, people are like trees.  In the spring time of life, we start fresh with blooms/buds and as each tree shoots forth, new branches form and leaves slowly uncurl and are shiny and new, and little.  There is a sense of promise.   How tall will they grow? 

As the trees mature, they come into their summer season.  Most trees are similar at this point.  Green.  Isn’t that just like our teenage and young adult years?  We are green in our expectations of what the world holds for us.  We try many different hats on, before becoming the people we were destined to be!  Our trees put forth new branches and some are meant to stay and others need to be cut back.  Pruning makes us grow, just like a tree, it enables the juices to flow in direction, allowing us to hit new heights rather than just nourishing what has already been in existence.

Fall, my favorite time of the year.  This is when we finally make our distinctions.  Look outside, see the golden leaves, see the hennas, the browns and yes, still some greens.  Fall is this time in my life.  I am ok with who I am and I find it is ok to be decidedly different, not conforming to anyone else’s idea of who I should be.  Some could look to this as a sad time, some might think they are past their prime.  Not me, the numbers associated with my name – be they age, dimensions or weight are inconsequential to me.  We have matured, and our personalities are the colors of the leaves in fall.  Each color is vibrant and all together they speak of God’s beauty in our lives.

Winter, most but not all, the leaves are down.  I say this, because I have 2 oak trees that hang on tight to their leaves until the new shoots of spring push them aside.  Winter continues with its beauty too though.  Look at the tree barks, see their uniqueness, areas where it is rough, areas where it has been pruned.  Note the striations of color along its heights.  Notice the shape, is it tall and upright, or bent by the wind? No matter, it still has a story to share, the rings of its life are carefully etched into its core, only visible when it gets felled.

All this reminds me that we are all created by God, no two alike… some trees are stronger than others, some trees are free of grain, others  have knotholes, some trees served a purpose and then were forever twisted to never be able to serve that purpose again (a dogwood made up the cross).  No matter what variety of tree you have been in my life, your foliage is and has been a beautiful sight to behold.  Finally, some tree roots are shallow and some run quite deep and this too has its purpose, whether the roots are meant for a  reason, season or lifetime, they are a blessing to me. 

Looking up!~Barb