The Trees

I'm sitting on the porch right now...looking out at the trees across our street.  It's something that Scotty and I love to do; not so much in the heat, but, it's a place of quiet and reflection for us. We look out at the trees and think about how constant they are...They're always there...Just the same...no matter what minor or major changes have taken place in our lives.  You look out there, across the street...and they're still there.  For some reason, it causes us to pause and think about the things that have happened in our lives recently.

I thought I'd venture out there this morning...Just to see if I could get some quiet...and reflection...

It worked...even in the heat (Yes, it's already hot at 10:00 in the morning here in Southern Louisiana)

I'm looking at the trees and thinking that last year at this time we were at the beach in Alabama.  We didn't even know that we would be adopting.  We didn't even start talking about it until we got back from vacation last year.  Oh, don't get me wrong...We had talked about it for years, but never like we talked about it last June.  Now, almost a year later, we're so close to bringing home the most precious little boy...We're almost there...almost...

I'm thinking how we didn't know about my father in law...We were at the beach with him and my mother in law...Having fun...Making memories...Never suspecting...What would we have done if we knew?  I imagine that I would have desperately warned him and tried to get him to take all the precautions to prevent it from happening...Hindsight...

My how our lives have changed in a year...but those trees...they're still the same...they don't worry...they don't panic...They just grow...When autumn comes, leaves fall...They prepare for sleep...rest...Then the winter comes and they look almost dead...Sometimes you wonder if maybe they might be.

Then spring comes, and the faintest light green appears on the branches...Signs of life...A new start...A fresh start...

They don't freak out when their leaves start falling...They don't worry and say, "Will we ever be the same again?!"  Nope...They know, with confidence, that spring is coming...That winter is just a period of rest...They rest, and when spring arrives they rejuvenate and move forward full force to summer...


Wow...What a lesson...in the period of their lives that things look the worst; they rest...

Last year at this time, we were in the "summer" of our lives.  Everything was perfect!  When we began the adoption, it was still "summer".  A little further into it, began "autumn"...There were some scary times as we were stepping out in faith...

When my father in law had the stroke, "winter" was in full force...Things just seemed to stop...Growth seemed to stop...All of the uncertainties...

We should have known that "spring" was coming...And, indeed, it is here.

Everyday God performs another miracle...with my father in law, and in this adoption, and in our own lives...Both spiritually and mentally and emotionally...

We are in a time of growth...of new beginnings...and "summer" is on its way...