Trees

"When you put something into words, it leads to so many other thoughts." ~ Madeleine L'Engle

Ah . . . quotes. They certainly stir my imagination. Although I'm a writer, I don't have many words and imagination to draw from. I could never write a fiction novel. The words just arn't there. So I'm satisfied to write here and there and enjoy the words of others!

Like Garrison Keillor who wrote the following quote:

"Stones and trees speak slowly and may take a week to get out a single sentence, and there are few men, unfortunately, with the patience to wait for an oak to finish a thought."

Now that's something to ponder. Sitting under an oak tree and listening to it speak. Could there be anything quite as easy? The only catch is time. If you don't have it, you miss the words of the tree.

Joyce Kilmer, 1886-1918, wrote the following poem titled "Trees"

"I think I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree,
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray,
A tree that may in Summer wear A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by people like me, But only God can make a tree."

"A tree that looks at God all day . . ." How I treasure the imaginations of others that cause me to ponder God's ways that I've never imagined. And to think, an old oak tree begins with an acorn, like this one that Jerry is holding.

"If you have never heard the mountains singing, or seen the trees of the field clapping their hands, do not think because of that they don't. Ask God to open your ears so you may hear it and your eyes so you may see it, because, though few men ever know it, they do, my friend, they do." McCandlish Phillips

We get so much from trees: shade, especially on hot, searing days; homes for birds, nests for squirrels, sap for syrup, wood for fires, decoration for streets, rest for our backs, mulch for gardens, a sanctuary for worship, shelter for animals, and frames for my pictures!



"Even the sparrow has found a home and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young--a place near your altar." Psalm 84:3

Three quotes about trees that captured my attention and opened my ears to the sound of trees. Yes, I like quotes.

And more important . . . trees give us baby leaves, God's special hope just for me!