I love the tree…
Huge and leafy, its canopy spreads out to cover three houses, and it hovers over several power lines. It is big, beautiful and majestic…it was a selling point of the house, and now it has the potential to sink my fragile ship of finance.
Although safely ensconced in my home office, I am still in its shade. I love the old tree, and have often when it first sprouted. Was my yard part of a fam field, a meadow, or just part of a clump of trees growing on the edge of town? Maybe there was already a street, and it simply grew up in the back yard, always in the shadow of my house…until it grew bigger than the house.
For decades, it has withstood storms of wind, rain, ice and snow, including several hurricanes that made its way inland. It has stood strong as the world has changed around it, continuing to give shade to my house and those around it. It has been home to numerous bird and squirrel nests and has become a landmark (at least for me) and a source of peace and leaves for the entire block.
Since I owned the house, the tree has been trimmed several times, but in recent years, I have not been able to afford a professional, so I have done the minimum by myself, and the tree has appeared to manage just fine despite my armature arboreal skills. Unfortunately, I recently returned from my first real vacation in years, to find that the tree has began to split down the middle!
It has been a very wet and stormy Spring and Summer, and this has taken a toll on the entire area. There have been down-pours, floods, high winds and a tornado even touched down nearby.
Now, it seems as if time has begun to run out for the tree.
The split is growing bigger every day, and if nothing is done, a quarter of this big tree will wind up in the side of my house, as well as that of my neighbor. Another quarter will wind up taking down powerlines and blocking the alley…but at least my insurance will cover it…I hope.
Now, it is a case of whether or not we can save the whole tree…and how it will be paid for, but these are issues for tomorrow (literally).
If it stays, the tree will be smaller, as will my bank account…but both will grow stronger again.
Where there is life, there is always hope.
If it goes, I will plant a new tree in its place, using one of the nascent saplings that the it has spawned. For nothing that powerful, that magnificent can ever truly be gone, as it will leave a legacy of new life and new growth that will can never be lost or forgotten.
It’s that whole circle of life thing coming to fruition.
It is just tough to be in the in-between place, uncertain of how things will turn out, what the results will be.
So, I consult with the experts, getting their opinions and seeking to make the best choice for the tree, and for myself.
But right now, I am stuck in the “whether or not”, waiting to see how this will all work out, and having faith that no matter what the result, and how that will impact my bank account (and house), that all will be okay…not necessarily easy, and not without pain…but okay.
Where there is life…there is hope…even if that hope can be hard to hold on to at times.
And it is this hope that feeds our faith.
Ordinary Adventures 