Tree Wisdom

After the sudden loss of my husband, when my head was still spinning and I barely had the energy to get out of bed, I had a deep urge to go and see the giant sequoias in California. I had always wanted to see them and I had become acutely aware of how short life here on earth can be, but it was more than that.

I felt a persistent nudge to plan to see them on my birthday. It was six months away and it would give me something to look forward to, since at the time, getting out of bed every morning was almost more than I could handle. I mentioned it to a few friends and they encouraged me to go. I mentioned it to my daughter and my sister and they wanted to join me.

My sister said that I really needed to see the waterfalls in Yosemite as well. So, we made a plan including a surprise plane ticket for my mama as a Christmas gift and we went to Yosemite at the end of April.

I obsessed about the weather the week before we left and I asked God to please bless us with sunny days. I literally prayed, “I know this is a stupid prayer, but please bless our trip with good weather.” The weather channel called for rain, but since I worship the God who creates weather, He is in no way confined by a weather forecast and He didn’t find my prayer to be stupid. The weather was excellent.

On our first day, we climbed the mist trail. It was a tough climb. The stairs were steep and wet, but when we arrived at the first lookout where rainbows sprung up everywhere, when the mist met the sun, I began to sob. Six months earlier, the Holy Spirit planted a seed in my broken heart to seek out the wonder in Creation and God met me there to put on a show. The sound of the water crashing was almost deafening and the barrage of rainbows was absolutely glorious.

I could feel His presence and I gave an immediate prayer of thanks for the wonder.

The following day we went to Mariposa Grove. I had wanted to see those ancient sequoias since a social studies lesson in elementary school. There was something spiritual about trees over 1,000 years old, but I knew that those waterfalls would be hard to top.

I was not surprised when God met me in the quiet grove of those mighty trees. He wasn’t loud and splashy, but the majesty was the same. When I gazed at trees that were too big to fit in a camera shot, trees that two people couldn’t join hands and fit around, trees that had been singed by fire, but still stood tall and pointed to God, I felt a deep kinship with them.

They were scarred, yet they still  had a story to tell. I imagine that most of us who have lived long enough, have scars of some sort, but those trees reminded me that as long as we are breathing, God is not finished with us. They reminded me to stand tall and allow our stories to point to Him because in the end, He will work in all things for the good of those who love Him.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂