Horticultural Insights (pt.2)

Last week I met a tree. Walking through this arboretum a note by its roots read "Casaurina Equisetifolia - 100 years old". Who kept track of that? When other of its larger cousins were being hewn down and harvested, someone cared for this plant, watered it, trimmed and cleaned... Who did that? I wonder what they looked like... Did they smile a lot? What did the like to eat for breakfast? Could they run like the wind or were they confined to a wheelchair? I'll never know. All I know is that they loved this tree. They loved it, cared for it, and passed it on to someone else who would do the same.

"Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." -Moses

Most of us won't be remembered long after we're gone. Family and friends may crack open a photo album from time to time and tell stories. Maybe they'll remember my smile, maybe they won't. But if they can look at my effect on the world around and know I loved Jesus, that will be good indeed. Maybe it will be a person they see, or a group of people. Maybe it will be where I put my money, all that non-necessity money. Maybe it will be an investment of hours week in and week out, or maybe just thirty seconds later today. Maybe it will be in a note I write, or something I say. Whatever it is, will it last, will it point the to God? In fact, it doesn't even matter so much that they know "I" loved Jesus but that Jesus is worth loving because someone devoted a life to it. 27 years and counting...

Whoever planted that Horsetail Tree is long since gone and now a second generation of caretakers is ticking off the days, maybe a third. Do they love trees? We'll see.