Short
Stories |
Tree Heaven The place of my story is Tree Heaven. All the beautiful trees, when they had served God and performed their divine function, were sent here, back in their original form, to spend eternity. As it is with all God’s creations, they felt a need to reminisce about the old days. And so they did. Tree Red Wood, the giant of trees because of his colossal size, led the discussion and told them of the days when cars drove through the hole, made by man, right through his gigantic trunk. He remembered all the wood his size offered, so he could be made into decks for homes, where families met and talked, ate and could sit for hours quietly enjoying trees, streams, mountains, sky and other beautiful works of God. Many a beautiful sun-rise and sun-set was seen by families and sweethearts, because he had made it possible. He felt, as he spoke, very happy, useful and fulfilled. Fir tree spoke next and he fairly glowed from the memory of the joy he had provided for the Holley family on that sad Christmas Mr. Holley had been sick and lost his job. All was not lost however, for the church they belonged to had made a special effort to make certain that they had a blessed holiday. They had gone to a local supplier and purchased this very tree. It gladdened their hearts, with it’s garnished and ample limbs folding over and seemingly caressing the fine array of gifts, given so generously and lovingly, by friends and family. It was, he said, a way of personally blessing each and every gift, for each individual member of the Holley family, who he had come to know and love, that holiday season. Great Oak, spoke next, telling them of the tenderness and love he felt when the father, so many generations ago, had hung a swing from his sturdy branch. He could still hear in his own heart, the laughter and squealing of the numerous children that had used and enjoyed this simple act of love. He also recalled the day of the Great Storm, the people called it, but to him it meant the day that he had his roots yanked violently from the nutritious soil that had sustained and nurtured him these many years. He became a casualty, and was cut up into fire wood. But, like the others, he kept a good attitude and even with this turn of events, remembered, more importantly those he kept warm and snug. Tree after tree shared their stories, bringing memory after memory of families, events, situations and hardships that involved sad, happy, joyous, frightening and always heart felt response from the speaker as well as the listener. With all of this, they all knew that they had personally touched lives, and for this they were grateful. Back from the crowd stood a tree that had not spoken, or at times had not seemed too interested, but never-the-less had remained with them until all had spoken. He was not in appearance anything like the rest, for he was not renewed, as the rest , but remained as he looked when he been on the earth. The others often quietly, so not to offend him, spoken of the way he looked, with his gnarled limbs and odd white and red spots on his lower trunk, near the root line. This did indeed set him apart and he knew it. Because he did not speak, Little Pine tree finally got up the nerve to timidly speak to him. “Sir, please tell us why you are so different. We do not desire to hurt your or separate you from us, but we would appreciate your story.” Marked tree then spoke, sap running down his trunk and with a voice full of emotion, he quietly spoke these words. “Dear fellow trees, I am different, not because I desire to separate myself in a prideful way or any such thing, but because I still weep not out of sadness, as you think, but because tears of joy, happiness and fulfillment, as I recall the reason for my odd markings. They are there because I had the Lord Jesus kneel at my foot in Gethsemane, weeping in great sorrow and travail, and shedding tears and blood that fell on my limbs and roots, and they remain thus to this very day.” With this, the trees, in complete unison, lifted their limbs to the sky and with their leaves, sang songs and melody of adoration to the God that had given them such purpose and fulfillment.
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