I write
this with a bit of sadness in my heart today. This week we lost an old friend;
a large tree that stood in the back of our yard. A storm came through the city
where I live, taking out power, taking down trees, and making the water in some
portions of the city unfit to drink because of contamination. We lost two trees in our yard and two were damaged on the boulevard. The trees in
our yard landed on our fence, the
neighbor's shed, car, boat, yard, and power line (she had no power for 1 1/2
days.)
Cathy and
I woke up at 4:00 am to hear the "train" sound and the sky looked
like a strobe light (we both got headaches). We realized that the tree was
going, she prayed and I held her thinking that if we go, let's go
together…always the romantic I guess…
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| Tree Trimmers |
The winds
shifted and the three main branches hurled a different direction away from the
house. Our daughter Anna (who lives two blocks away from our house) also lost a
massive tree that landed on the roof of her bedroom. We realized that
potentially, the family could have lost four members in the same storm. Praise
the Lord for His protection and His mercy.
Two of our
children; Josh and Rachel, were off work and were able to come over to help
clean up our yard. I borrowed a friend's chainsaw, so I had two chainsaws
available along with some pole saws. We hauled the equivalent of 12 truckloads
of tree branches.
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| Our Tree-less Yard |
After we
had our trees inspected by an arborist, we ended up having to hire tree
trimmers take down the largest tree and a portion of another. Due to the
location of the buildings and all of the utility lines, it was too dangerous
for me to remove without a boom truck and pulleys. After the tree was removed,
my son-in-law Chris helped move the logs and the NEW pile of branches after the
tree trimmers were done.
I really
miss that tree and feel sad that we had to take it down. When we purchased the
home some twenty six years ago, little did we know how much the tree would be a
part of our lives and the life of our family; even our patio was designed
around it. It was a place to rest, a place of shade, home for squirrels and birds.
Boards were nailed to the sides so that my children could climb up into it.
When we built an ice rink, it stood in one end guarding the goal.
It’s
funny that it takes loss for us to appreciate what we had (have). Today, please
take some time to think about life and death and what’s important. Death
is a reality - but so is God's offer of salvation in Christ. Is your hope in
Christ? Don't put off your decision for Him, because you could be called into
eternity at any moment - and then it will be too late.
Take time
to talk to God and to talk to your friends. Take time to think about what’s
important. Take time to slow down and appreciate the trees; it will be tomorrow
soon enough.
Struggling
with what to do next? Call
1-888-NEED-HIM. Someone is waiting to talk to you.
We all live busy lives but we need to take time out for each other. God bless you.
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