Lessons From A Tree

For the first two weeks of June the 80 foot tall Catalpa tree in my back yard was in full bloom with large clusters of white flowers from top to bottom. Like a gigantic bouquet it was gorgeous; impressive! The tree remained in full flower for about two weeks. As the blossoms fell off the tree one by one, they formed a blanket of delicate white pedals on the green lawn below the tree, echoing the beauty above. Now, the flowers are gone.

I wait with anticipation and expectation for this tree to come into bloom every Spring. It is powerfully uplifting. Yet, taking care of this tree in my yard takes a lot of heavy, mundane work throughout the rest of the year. In the Fall it dumps a huge pile of leaves on the lawn. They are not small leaves that can easily be removed by a leaf blower. Some are the size of dinner plates, and they must be raked up by hand, piled on a tarp, dragged around the house, up the hill on the driveway and dumped by the curb of the street. In the Spring it rains long, dry bean pods on the lawn, not by the hundreds, but literally by the thousands. They too must all be raked up by hand before we attempt to mow the lawn.

This tree reminds me of the universal rhythm of life. There are beautiful things to behold and wonderful, joy filled high times. But most of them come only once a year, like the blooming of a tree, Christmas, the Fourth of July fireworks, or special vacations. Some high times only happen once in a lifetime: graduations, weddings, births, promotions, and recognitions. The rest of the time, life consists of taking care of things. Doing hard, mundane, sometimes repetitive, boring chores. Caring for parents, spouses, children and friends take time, and effort. What about stress and anxiety on the job? How can one keep one’s spirit and energy up and not fall into depression in-between the all too infrequent high times.

This ancient tree knows what I have had to learn. It must "be" in the world before it can flourish and bloom. It must strive to reach toward the sun, send down roots and endure the hard winter in order to fulfil its God given, beautiful destiny.

The Bible does not sugar coat reality. Being in the world is hard work, there is stress, things are not always fair. No one can expect to go from one high time to another without facing difficulties. But God asks us to reach up, dig in roots and complicate life even more. God asks us to take vows, make commitments and fulfill our personal calling. When we complicate life by striving to "be" something beautiful in His sight, suddenly we can enjoy being in the world, doing those repetitive, boring chores. Hard work and hardships are justified. And joy filled high times can be expected. King David put it this way, "I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yea, wait for the Lord!" Psalm 27:13-14



Dr. Greene is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and a resident of Richmond, IN. He is also the author of Benjamin's Dog Joseph, Feeling Better: The Wisdom of the Doc, You Can Feel Better: How to cope with chronic pain and physical disabilities, and co-author of Walking Free: the Nellie Zimmerman Story.

For further information about his books, please visit www.densmorereid.com

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