The White Birch Tree

The White Birch Tree

Just the other day I walked my dogs around the neighbour’s pond located at the back of our house. The long grasses and weeds filled the field, still a little wet from the morning dew. The unplowed corn stalks stood tall as the dogs and I walked through the rows, pushing their leaves out of my face, and swatting away the bugs at the same time. Who says, I can’t multitask? Finally we made it back to the starting point. I sat in the chair overlooking the pond noticing all the trees which clustered along the pond’s edge. In ten years they have grown from small saplings into tall trees. A variety of trees; cedars, pines, tamarack. My, how abundantly, they have grown along with the weeds in the surrounding field. Over the summer even brown patches of weeds and algae has also grown throughout the pond. What was the cause of these changes? Was it the steady rains, hot days combined with the runoff from the chemically sprayed corn field? Whatever the cause, the pond is looking like it is dying. The pond which once looked blue as the sun and clouds clearly reflected from the blueness of the sky onto the calm of the water.  Flocks of geese gathered daily. The geese don’t land in the pond much anymore. I don’t see them bathing their wings or hear the synchronous honks of the flocks as they land. So the pond sits, somewhat stagnating. I noticed the changes. Nothing is ever done. Doesn’t seem like the owners care or even inspect the ponds or see the damage being done from the poisons seeping their way into these waters. Some of the causes could also be environmental. I’m not a biologist, so I only look from the perspective of what I see and not what I know.
            I sit in the little white chair taking a moment to talk to God about the things I see. After all this is our little garden that we share. It is my quiet place. I must confess that this summer, even I, have neglected going there. My path to that quiet place actually grew over with weeds too. The narrow path to my quiet place, where I often met on a regular basis to talk to my Heavenly Father was almost difficult to find, until one day my husband took the lawn mower and cut a path. The creep of simply having too many things to do which pull us away from our daily devotions, is perhaps one reason?

            I continued to talk to God our Father, and to my surprise, I also noticed one little tree amongst all the other trees around the pond’s edge. The sun was shining bright on that day, the sky was blue and this white tree stood amongst the evergreens. It stood looking at me from across the pond. It did not have a leaf on it. Just a white leafless tree standing out in the crowd. It came to my mind that I too, had become like that tree. I was not a pine tree full of lush green needles sitting at the water’s edge, full of life. I was like the white dead tree, with no fruit, no leaves. I stood out, but not in a good way. It was a dead tree. It still had a beauty about it as the sun shined on it, magnifying it. It was a surreal moment, where God showed me a picture of myself. That white tree still had a purpose. It had a voice for God to speak to me, in our quiet place. I believe he did speak to me as I looked at that tree, not in an audible voice, yet I recognized the voice of my Heavenly Father.  His gentle voice paints a picture so vivid. God did not yell at me and throw guilt trips at me for the things that I did or did not do this summer. God our Father was loving in His gentle rebuke, His Holy Spirit showed me a picture. As a Father, I have known His discipline. As a father disciplines his children, so God the Father at times disciplines those He loves. Our talk was not about  God's discipline, it was the voice of my Heavenly Father telling me to take notice. It was about me finding the discipline in my daily life to make time for God. It was as if I could hear God tell me, Daughter, I AM still here. I have missed our daily visits, and your prayers. I know your struggles, how you busy yourself, your questions, your doubts and fears. You don’t have to be like a dead tree. You can be like the tree whose roots goes deep into the water. I know that often you feel separated from other people and like you don’t fit in. I know your loneliness, frustrations, and worries. I am here to help you overcome them. Often you try to take control and cope with these things on your own. How is it working out for you? I still come to this garden every day. You stopped coming.