Trees: My Favorite

 Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being “in love” which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two.

-St. Augustine

If you don't already know, I created this blog for my senior seminar class, which is required of all Hope College soon-to-be grads. We are instructed to create a "Lifeview" project/paper that is meant to "reflect who we are as individuals and whom we believe we will be as we grow." During the most recent spring semester, I took the "Roots & Routes" senior seminar (definitely one of my favorite courses of my undergrad). This course challenged me to consider, both, where I have come from and where I am going.  It has allowed me to weigh several questions and evaluate my values as a twenty-something year old approaching life apart from school, the only thing that has consumed me up to this point.

So as the constant question of "where have I rooted myself" has circulated throughout my mind, I cannot help, but share my love for the most beautiful image that (in my opinion) embodies the truth of life. Trees. Aside truth, it represents: strength, but also frailty (which life can often be), growth, abundance (while also enduring seasons of scarcity), love, beauty...

[Photo courtesy of my best friend, Staci]

The most enchanting part of it, though, is that is serves as the foundation and source of all things. Evident of the Creator's presence, its roots penetrate deeply into the rich soil that allow it to stand firmly. It is reciprocal in nature as it benefits from spring rain and nutritious soil to providing the source of life to all living things -- supplying shelter, shade, and food.

 I strive for my life to be like a tree -- strong, abundant, and always giving to others. In my class, we mentioned a statement made by author, Annie Dillard, in which there is more of the tree underneath the ground than above the ground. I only can hope that my life is like this; where I am so strongly rooted in the life that I have created, that there is more of the tree securely planted than what is necessarily visible to the eye. 

[Another photo by my friend; she works at a beautiful golf course]

 In one of my classes, we were instructed to bring an epigraph to class that represented who we are as individuals. I brought two Bible verses:

A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree. (Proverbs 11:28)

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord...
They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing delicious fruit. (Jeremiah 17: 7-8)

As you can see, I hope to model my life this way. I want a flourishing life, just as God created a tree to flourish. 

[I took this picture a couple years ago at Holland State Park]

 That's what I have for you tonight. I know it's not a lot and it's a little all over the place, but hopefully I was able to express my love for God's creation.