Broken Trees

March is a dismal month. It teases us with a few nice days, quickly reverting back to damp dreary weather. Walking through the woods as the cool mist moistens my face, I still see beauty. Our trails travel through many hardwoods and pines. The hardwoods are still bare, as the brown dry leaves lay dampened to the ground. Pine trees keep their green needles, yet they are sparse this time of year.

The lack of foliage exposes many down trees and branches. Fortunately for us, they usually fall against each other keeping the trails clear. Strong winds and storms bring down any weakened branches or trees. As I look through the forest, many of what has been blown over is now supported by a standing tree. Often two weakened trees fall into each other keeping them above the ground. Some falls are stopped way up high, some are supported by a branch or stump, just before they hit the ground. Of course, some trees hit the ground, where they will quickly rot away.

I suppose to some this would not be a pretty sight, perhaps a destructive sight. I see a valuable example for life. We all weather storms and hardships. If we aren’t blown down, we certainly are tossed about. Are you the strong sturdy tree, able to support one or two trees on their way down? Perhaps you are a stump close to the ground, with just enough strength to keep a tree from a fatal fall. Maybe you’re the tree being blown about, almost ready to break and fall, hoping to fall against a strong branch.

Often all that is needed is a smile, a kind word and an ear to listen.

This is written in the Bible, Ecclesiastes 4:10 "If either of them falls down, one can help the other up; but pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up."

Connect, reach out, live. Choose to lean or be leaned on, a step towards not living old.