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| The Author standing in a Grumpwood Tree. |
Even though the trees grew up in the same forest they seemed to have differing views on the customs of Timberland. The Grumpwood tree was miserable, he sighed in resignation and murmured:
"I don't think I'm going to bother re-leafing in the spring. Every year it's the same thing. We bud, we releaf and then get deleafed all over again. Why can't we just stay leafed? I'm sick of releafing! I want some relief from all this deleafing!"The Grumpwood Tree was eventually struck by lightning. His trunk split in half and fell to the forest floor and turned into rotten wood filled with bugs.
The Smiling Ash stretched toward the sun and smiled from limb to limb. Her branches billowed in the wind as the leaves she once wore drifted away in the gentle breeze. She loved letting go. Watching her leaves fall were evidence of her autumnal maturity. Brilliant colors of red and yellow created a festival falling from the sky. Every inch of her bark was beaming with pride. Even her roots seemed to dance with the bluegrass as they caught the leaves on the earth below.
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| A Smiling Ash with cheap some sunglasses, "Oh Yeah!" |
The Ash wasn't always a Smiling Ash. She grew up like any other tree in Timberland. She watched as some of her friends fell victim to gangs of loggers. Others succumbed to disease and still others lived in impoverished soil. She was fortunate to have older tree friends share the sun and rain while protecting her from storms.
During her first full season of Defoliation, she was feeling rather moody in the midst of her deleafing. She watched as the Heart Farmer swept up her fresh leaf fallings with his leaf rake. He used some of her leaves for mulch to help insulate the roots of some of the younger trees. Some of her leaves he burned in a smoky fire. The Ash was saddened by the smell of her leaves burning. Her mood soured even further when she saw the ashes of her leaves smoldering as the fire burned out. The beauty of her leaves had been reduced to ashes.
The Heart Farmer left one small pile of leaves for his daughter to play in. Her name was Beauty. She loved to jump into the pile of leaves and squeal with joy as she tossed them over her head. One day, the Ash looked down through her boughs and saw the Heart Farmers daughter crying. Tears were running down her face and onto the dried leaves at her feet. It was Winter now and this was the Season of Shabbat for the Trees. They rested until Spring when they would begin their Budding which brought the hope of a New Releafing.
The leaves that were left on the ground were very crispy. The girl took a step and noticed the crunching sound under her feet. It made her smile, the sound tickled her ears as well as her heart. She took another step and crunched a few more leaves. Soon she was laughing and dancing as she crunched on one leaf after another. She smiled as she listened to the A cappella of crunching leaves echoing in the forest. The Ash began to smile along with Beauty as she danced.
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| A Festival of Flaming Fall Foliage. |
The Season of Shabbat allowed the Ash to reflect upon her existence and she began to understand her purpose in life. She was a part of nature that would teach supernatural wisdom to those willing to go deep and learn. The young girl dancing was learning how joy follows mourning. Instead of focusing on the decay of her leaves, the Ash focused on the Beauty of letting go and dancing in the joy of Budding and Releafing. The Smiling Ash learned how to focus on Beauty instead of ashes.
The Bible, Isaiah 61:3
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
"and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called mighty oaks,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor."
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| The Cross Tree. |
Head hanging earthward.
On a tree,
A depiction
of
The crucifixion.
Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody.
Bob Kuebler is the Founder &
Director of Youth With A Purpose - YWAP. He has spent the last 15 yrs. learning
about pain and perseverance from inner city young people and their families.
Healing starts with love, compassion and empathy.
Our
mission at YWAP is to inspire inner city young people to develop as God's
leaders who overcome the mindset of poverty and gang violence.
Bob
is the Author of five books and several blogs including The Bright Spot Report,
Bob shares how God is redeeming our cities through young people. You can reach
him at 716-830-8240, ywapbuffalo@yahoo.com. www.youthwithapurpose.org
All of the proceeds from Bob's books are used to support Youth With A Purpose. You can find them here:
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