A LESSON FROM TREES

There was a time when I thought I would never “get out of the woods,” but it was a different kind of “woods” than you might expect. In a span of about 15 years, the places where I lived and worked all had names that had to do with "woods" or "trees."

During that time frame, I also attended Marylhurst University (which means "Mary's Woods"!) as an adult student. But long before that, I had childhood memories of going to the campus with my mother to visit a family friend who taught there. White birch trees lined both sides of the road that led to the campus. In my five year old imagination, I thought, “This must be what heaven looks like!” 

In the 1990’s, the 80 year old birch trees were cut down to widen the road and to modernize the campus. That decision caused a great deal of sadness for those of us who saw the trees as symbolic of the university’s long standing history, especially as it was entwined with our own personal stories.  

For some reason, this incident came into my mind today and it occurred to me, instead of 20 trees lining a short stretch of campus road, I am now living in a country where there are more white birch trees than I could count in a life time!Neighborhood parks and country forests are full of them. It gives me the tiniest glimpse of how God is able to restore what has been lost and He can do it in such a way that there is greater abundance in the end than in the beginning.  

Maybe you have your own story about trees? If so, I'd love to hear from you!

"The whole earth is full of His glory!" (Isaiah 6:3b)