Day two of my forced vacation begins just like the first. Coffee, a little breakfast, a headache and a long nap to let the migraine medicine kick in.
Around noon, now headache-free, I drive to a nearby park. Since I am an outdoors kind of guy, seeking God’s face and spiritual renewal seems most likely to occur in the midst of nature.
Unfortunately, time-tested spiritual rituals of long walks in the woods and sitting beside a creek reading Scripture are of little value today. Not only does the Spirit of God not descend upon me like a dove, spiders and mosquitoes do. Discouraged, I leave the woods with all its critters and eventually come across a picnic table.
On a whim, I climb on top of the table and lay on my back, staring up at the branches of a nearby sugar maple. Does the sight of a fat, middle-aged man lying on a picnic table look silly? You bet it does. But do I care if someone is watching? Heck no.
“Laugh all you want, pal. I’m depressed and seeking God’s face. Now bug off.”
A tree is a tree, right? Maybe, maybe not. The bark on this sugar maple is as gnarly and scarred as I have ever seen. It is covered with deep gashes and grooves that zigzag back and forth and every which way.
“What a mess,” I think. “What a hard life it must have had.”
It is at that precise moment that God’s Word comes bubbling to the surface: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance” (James 1:2-3).
This sugar maple has obviously faced many trials. Not only does its bark look like a pock-marked battlefield, but there are dead branches everywhere. This thing has led a hard life. It is a miracle it has lasted as long as it has.
Yet despite the trials that it has endured, it is enormous, one of the largest trees in the area. And based on my brief observation, it serves as a refuge for squirrels, birds and locusts. The fact that there are three picnic tables—three—under it is a testament to the abundance of shade that it provides.
In short, despite its difficult past this sugar maple tree has more than survived: It is of great value. Despite its many scars, it has somehow persevered. And maybe, just maybe, it is of more value because of what it has endured over its lifetime.
Could it be that my current trial of headaches and depression, while causing a great deal of pain and suffering now, will make me sturdier for the future? Could it be that something good will come of the scars that are tearing me apart right now?
My prayer for today is a simple one, Lord: I want to be like this tree. I want to pass this test and persevere.
No comments:
Post a Comment