Skip to main content

The tree and me

As I sit/lay here under a young tree, the branches catch my attention. What to some may look like the branches are dying - the bark is covered in fungus/mold, pealing away, not many leaves or branches on it - is in fact alive. New, bright green leaves reaching out, starting over for that branch and that tree shoot out at the end. Against the blue sky above it this tree and branch makes me think about new life coming out of the old. A new part of the tree rising up and enjoying the warmth of the sun and the breeze of the day. Soaking in the greatness of just being a new creation. I want to be that tree  branch. I want to just be but I don't know how. How do I be? How do I let the old die as needed and learn to let the new grow? I'm jealous of this tree, it seems to have this all figured out - this secret that I can't understand. I want this tree to teach me... no to just tell me and maybe even do for me. I'm jealous that I can't just change my nature to be tree instead of human. Oh tree how I wish it was so simple to be you. But then again maybe its not so simple to be you. Maybe this sun and wind hurt you. Maybe the parts that are dying hurt you or make it hard for you to become new. I guess you and I have more in common then I thought. Maybe your jealous of me and my freedom to move from my spot. Oh tree you show me many things but what do you see in me? What do you learn from me? Maybe we're not so different in our stuff. Maybe we're the same in more ways then I thought.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

2024 Wrap Up

 Happy New Year's Eve! 2024 is almost gone as I type this. And it's been ... a year. To whomever may be reading this know this: I'm glad you made it through 2024. You're you and you're here. That's enough. Whether you met your goal/goals or not, you survived. You're still breathing - even if it's hard to do sometimes. I'm proud of you. Keep going. Even if all you can manage is the next minute. Keep going.  Here is my updates and reflection on 2024. The biggest thing for me has been my move and new ministry in Wisconsin. I said goodbye to two lovely rural Nebraska churches in February and started my new ministry in Wisconsin March 1. It was funny that I was actually attending a UCCB meeting in Ohio when I officially met my new conference minister in person on March 1. God has a sense of humor. This past 9 months has been learning about the systems of the church and the community and trying to find my place. I haven't been perfect in this, but I...

Political vs. Partisan in Preaching

For years now, I have heard in preaching and clergy circles about being political in sermons; the good, the bad and those who state that church shouldn’t be political. There are workshops, books, and podcasts talking about politics in the church with a variety of opinions. What do people mean when they make the statement that the church shouldn’t be political? The IRS has the most say about the rules for the separation of church and state/politics. If your church wants to be tax exempt, there are rules: don’t endorse any candidate or party, if you allow one party to use your space, other political parties also must be allowed to use the space, etc. The UCC’s general counsel, Heather Kimmell, has a webinar on this topic if you’d like to hear a more detailed explanation which can be found on the UCC’s YouTube channel. Churches have gotten “creative” in how to get around this, often partnering with another non-profit group to give support to a particular group. The UCC is proud to claim...

Sermon based on Revelation 21: 1-6

Revelation 21: 1-6 "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘See, the home* of God is among mortals. He will dwell* with them; they will be his peoples,* and God himself will be with them;* 4he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.’ 5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ 6Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life." The book of Revelation is a book that has generate...