HELLO!

Today, among the nine photos my friend Brian sends me every Monday (he walks throughout the week with his camera, waiting for God to tap him on the shoulder and say, “look over there, the kin-dom of God has come alive”) there was this very strange looking tree. Brian saw a face. I see aging and resilience. What do you see? I love trees. Poet Mary Oliver says, “Trees save me. Daily. All my life”. Psalm 52:8 says: “But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the loving kindness of God forever and ever.” Trees, especially one as weathered and sturdy as the one Brian found (or found him), are pure life, they support life, they give life, and their beauty, roots and uniqueness inspire more life.

In my office there is a print of California Redwoods. I have no “bucket list”, no places I want to see before I die. My favorite travels are neither to see friends or see place, but rather to see a place with a friend who reveals to me what a tourist would miss, what that space means to them. The only trip I can imagine on a wish list would be to walk among the Redwoods with someone else who finds fresh life in this part of Creation.

What I know is that my walks amongst the trees feeds my spirit, as does the rich poetry of Mary Oliver. Her inner monologues, as revealed in her poetry, just seem to affirm there are other souls out there who are like me. God has given me my soul, Mary’s poetry, and gorgeous trees to behold. God’s loving kindness is everlasting. Peace, Kevin

When I Am Among the Trees - By Mary Oliver

When I am among the trees, especially the willows and the honey locust, equally the beech, the oaks and the pines, they give off such hints of gladness.

I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

I am so distant from the hope of myself, in which I have goodness, and discernment, and never hurry through the world but walk slowly, and bow often.

Around me the trees stir in their leaves and call out, “Stay awhile.”

The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say, “and you too have come into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled with light, and to shine.”