Every morning the past few weeks, I have taken a walk around the neighborhood. It's not just about exercise, but my walk is a form of worship and mediation. It is my time to say morning prayers, feeling an appreciation for God's creation ("breathing in nature"), and contemplating the day ahead.
We have a wonderful set of trees in this neighborhood; they are the highlight of the nature walk. There is nothing more wondrous in God's creation than a beautiful tree; pine, oak, chestnut, willow, tulip, sweet gum, alder, linden, maple ... they are all inspiring. But the greatest of all trees in our neighborhood is a large Hackberry tree. It is majestic above all others; healthy beyond description, dark green in color, huge strong trunk - well trimmed over the years. Hackberry trees are not normally the best of the lot when planted in a grove with other types. They tend to get crowded out and have sparse growth. But our neighborhood Hackberry has been given enough space to show its potential, with lower branches trimmed and well cared for over the years; until it is now an order of magnitude more splendid than all the rest, beautifully shaped and majestic in height.
It seems to myself that our neighborhood Hackberry tree is an analogy to human beings. When crowded and discouraged, it is hard to show our true potential. However, when properly nurtured, and given room to grow, our gifts can be obvious to whomever cares to look.
I am taking a lesson from this tree everyday. I hope each of you will have space and encouragement to reach full potential. Unlike trees, our growth as human beings never ends in the areas that really matter.
BRENT
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4 comments:
Brent:
I have a Hackberry tree story as well. I grew up in Fresno California on a 1-acre lot where my grandfather had planted and nurtured all kinds of trees - redwoods, eucalyptus, almond, apricot, fig, and hackberry! The hackberry did grow very well in Fresno, although it wasn't as big as our eucalyptus (look at 4247 N. Thorne, Fresno, CA on Google Earth). When we moved to Illinois, I felt a bit more at home when I found that the house we'd bought had a very nice hackberry tree in the front yard. It also turns out that hackberrry's are native to Illinois. Since I was looking for a place to feel at home, this seemed like a nice portent of things to come. In some senses Illinois has provided a lot of space for me to grow; not exactly as I expected professionally, but more than I expected spiritually I'd say.
Now I don't generally make too much of such "coincidences" but there was a time when writers played up the parallels between personal lives and events in nature in their literature. I think it reflected a sense of connection between the human spirit and nature that we tend to lose nowadays. So thanks for sharing your Hackberry story. The analogy you make is very apropos to life.
Dear Brent,Usha, Brian, Ben, John and Betty,
We are sorry to hear that Brent is in the hospital and that a visit will not work this weekend. We will hope to come another time soon. Brent, thanks again for sharing yourself in the blogs. So many important truths that we all must remember--not denying our physical and emotional pain and yet somehow coming to peace with it. A phrase that I read in a Celtic prayer book that I tend to repeat to myself a lot is "Be still and aware of God's presence within and all around". When I say that to myself, I seem to have a sudden awareness of this often forgotten reality. May you be profoundly aware of God's presence. Blessings, Kyla and Brian
Greetings in Christ, Brent. You don't know me, but I am a fellow Christian and happen to work with a former coworker of yours at Brown University, Jean Cormack. She passed your blog on to me. At the risk of sounding (or seeming) presumptuous or trite, I wanted to pass along a book that might be of comfort to you: The Saints' Everlasting Rest by Richard Baxter. Baxter was a Puritan pastor in the 17th century, and from what I understand, actually wrote this book when he was in a period of very poor health, and thought it likely that he was dying. He turned out to live many more years, but I think this book has comforted many saints who have found themselves in similar circumstances. You can find it pretty easily on Amazon, etc.
Be encouraged in Christ, knowing that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, and may the "God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost".
Sincerely,
Brad Snyder
Greetings in Christ, Brent. You don't know me, but I am a fellow Christian, and I work with a former co-worker of yours, Jean Cormack. She passed your blog on to me. At the risk of sounding (or seeming) presumptuous or trite, I wanted to pass along a book that I thought might be of comfort to you: The Saints' Everlasting Rest by Richard Baxter. Baxter was a Puritan pastor in the 17th century, and from what I understand, actually wrote this book during a period of very poor health in his life, when his death seemed likely. He went on in God's providence to live many more years, but I think that many saints have been comforted by this book throughout the years when finding themselves in similar circumstances. You can find it pretty easily on Amazon, etc.
Be encouraged in Christ, Brent, remembering that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And may the "God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost".
Sincerely,
Brad Snyder
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