Saturday, September 20, 2008

Tree Rings and Shade

My 80 year old dad is a volunteer historian for our state fair.
He's attended over half the state fairs held in the history of the state, and literally grew up just down the street from the venerable grounds.
So when one of the fair's old maple trees recently succumbed to time and disease, my dad felt more than a  passing wistfulness for an old friend.
He and a local arborist examined the tree's cross section, counting the rings to determine its age at around two hundred years, give or take. Long enough to have seen local Native Americans give way to early state settlers, barnstorming stops by the first airplanes - even a speech about agriculture, by a lanky gentleman passing through from the state to our south, a Mr. Lincoln.
But the arborist pointed out something else to my dad. Something most people would miss. He said that the early years of the tree were spent in the shade of other, larger trees. You could see that the rings are thinner, much closer together, indicating less growth. But then the later years, as the tree became more mature in the grove, and exposed to the light, are thicker and more robust. Maybe some droughts and rainy stretches had their impact as well.
Isn't that exactly what life is like for us? Until we break through the spiritual shade of this world - doubt, sin, selfishness, pride...our growth is stunted, even unhealthy.
But the Light. Ah...the Light.
When Jesus and his teachings reach through to hit our leaves - when we let that supernatural photosynthesis do its work - that's when we grow to our full potential in the grove. Sure, there are some droughts and rainy seasons thrown into the mix. But our family and friends are right there in the grove with us, or down the street.
And the Son is always there too, ready to break through the clouds.

What do you believe?