The Trees in People’s Yards

I enjoy long walks to clear the air and talk with the Lord. On one particular morning, I felt the Lord spoke to me about the trees in people’s yards. I’d like to share some thoughts with you along that line. Keep in mind, there’s always a “tree” in our lives.

One yard’s tree had dropped its leaves everywhere. You couldn’t even see the ground. Nowhere on the neighborhood’s street were leaves as heavy. This homeowner didn’t seem to care whether joggers, tricyclers or rollerbladers tripped on them or not.

Two homes had their side yards bordering a busy street. One had planted pine trees whose soft needles were pleasant to walk over. The other had planted deciduous trees whose broken branches and leaves covered the ground, causing me to step gingerly through the area. To me, the one said, “Have a nice walk.” And the other said, “Hey, so what? It’s my land.”

I saw one home with a massive tree which had a badly scarred trunk. The owners had waited too long to prune it and the branch was too developed. Sometimes if we let sin stay too long, when it is finally removed, the potential for great beauty is lost in that particular area. My favorite was a home which had put in a curving sidewalk leading up to the front door. They had planted two trees which made an umbrella-like effect over the sidewalk. This spoke to me of welcome, comfort and protection.