Good morning…
After reading our post Our Community Of Trees, a grieving mom wrote me: “I definitely feel like a small hurting tree stump in a community of giant, strong, loving redwood trees that have sent their nurturing root systems to help me regain strength and bloom again. What a powerful metaphor to draw strength from on the hard days.”
She then taught me about the lifespan of an oak tree: “It spends 100 years growing, 100 years living, and 100 years dying. I like that image for our current and future generations of family that I pray will continue to live, grow, and thrive connected to each other. Some will not have as long on this earth but I know each will give their strength and leave their mark on the bigger community.”
When I crafted this message and sent it to my friend asking if we might post for our online community, she replied: “This is beautiful. Thank you for writing it so meaningfully. I would only like to add one small thing. On the second quote could you please add “leave their special mark on our family and the bigger community.” Our son left his mark in so many places but no where more than on our family and in my heart. I think the hardest part right now is not having his presence as a part of our new memories. I just don’t want to leave him behind.”
Touched to tears, I responded: “I sense him growing on with all of us in new, more expansive ways. If anyone will not be left behind it is your son!”
Sometimes God’s abundance takes a long time to bloom again on the stump of our lives, but, patient and prayerful, we are strengthened by the Spirit to wait with hope, trusting in the fullness of God’s evolving time, believing we will receive and freely give the expansive love we need, day by day.
For out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift] (John 1:16, AMP).
…Sue…
