Good morning…
In the morning, I took a walk through the fertile forest of fallen trees. I told you in yesterday’s post, “New forms of life were sprouting up everywhere!”
In the afternoon, we gathered for our session in The Upper Room, the amazing new building on the campus of the Ignatius House Retreat Center. Our retreat leaders told us that several trees were felled to make room for the sacred gathering space. The wood from these trees was formed into furniture, furniture that will bless many for years to come. The mantel. The communion table. Coffee tables. End tables. Tables to display cool art. All of these handcrafted items were created from the fallen trees.
Then in the evening, I was reading from one of my favorite books, a book I borrowed from the Ignatius House library. Paula D’Arcy wrote the following words on pages 24 and 25.
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Excerpt from Gift of the Red Bird by Paula D’Arcy
A cottonwood tree is positioned at the center of the lodge. I learn that when the upper limb of a cottonwood is cut crosswise, the grain reveals a perfect, five-pointed star. The star is understood as a sign of the Great Spirit’s presence and the tree’s holy nature. Even the breeze blowing through the cottonwood leaves is understood to be a prayer.
…I look for a long while at the cottonwood tree, thinking about it nestling its five-pointed star. I think of the housing developments we passed on our way to the reservation. I consider all the trees that were felled without a thought to supply that lumber. The forests ruined. Stars chopped down. Choked. Who would ever notice, in my busy life, that a star is secreted in a cottonwood tree? It makes me wonder, are there equally hidden depths inside of me?
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Secreted. Did you catch that phrase? “…a star is secreted…” Secreted is one of my favorite words in the whole entire book. Secreted has a double meaning, depending upon which syllable is emphasized.
- Hidden and Concealed – “When used in everyday language, secreted means to place something in a hidden location where it is hard to find,” explains Merriam-Webster.com.
- Produced and Released – As defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary, secreted describes a substance created and discharged by a living cell.
Eternal life is hidden and concealed in each tree. Even when felled, a tree produces and releases new forms of regenerative life.
Eternal life is equally hidden and concealed in the depths of us. When we each fall into our final sleep, the Great Spirit of God will produce and release through us new forms of regenerative life. Behind and underneath all this there is a holy, God-planted, God-tended root. If the primary root of the tree is holy, there’s bound to be some holy fruit (Romans 11:16, MSG).
…Sue…
