This morning I had a free hour in between meetings with friends. In that hour I stopped at a park and just sat quietly at a picnic table with a couple books and a journal. The books, however, didn't grab my attention near as much as the environement around me. The birds were singing loudly, squirrels were busy and making lots of noise, but for whatever reason I took particular attention to a couple of trees. In the distance from where I was sitting stood a long row of huge character-filled trees probably 100 years in age which lined the creek bank. The one particular tree that caught my eye was massive. It had two trunks that shot out from its foundation and near the tops of those trunks the smaller branches shot out wildly in all different directions. This particular tree was a hub for all kinds of life. It was the meeting place for at least 40-50 birds as well as a couple squirells. It was a scene of character and of life.
In my immediate foreground about 15 feet away was a small sapling that still had the man made wrap around it to keep it bug free and healthy. It was very unimpressive just a little bigger than the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Nobody walking by would stop and notice this small scrawny little sapling. But at closer inspection it did have the traits of it's larger relative in the background, it just didn't have the strength or capacity to house the birds and squirrels yet. It's branches at the top were already sprawling out every which way like a child's outstreched fingers reaching for their parents. And biology would say that the sapling was growing but I couldn't see any progress or motion. It's growth is in quiet miniscule movements.
Man, by the sounds of it I should be living out of my VW van somewhere in Boulder! Please don't believe that thoughts like these occur to me everyday, but for some reason God spoke to me this quiet morning through these trees... The trees aren't calculating, not trying to figure all the details out. They just rely on the provisions of their faithful maker. Like the lillies and birds they get dressed and fed adaquately and they serve their purpose just fine. If they had thoughts I don't think they'd be comparing themselves with each other trying to see who could grow the tallest or how they could house more birds than their neighbor. This morning the trees reminded me to just be still and trust. Abandon ego and big ideas and the hunger for the things of this world and just be. And I'm reminded of this little prayer offered by Richard Rohr in Everything Belongs (and of which comes from Psalm 46:10),
Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be.
Perhaps we were made for something much bigger and broader than we could ever imagine.
...and yes, you are!
Posted by: Wes Roberts | March 20, 2007 at 10:33 PM