“For there is hope for a tree,
If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that its tender shoots will not cease.
Though its root may grow old in the earth,
And its stump may die in the ground,
Yet at the scent of water it will bud
And bring forth branches like a plant.”
— Job 14: 7-9
Each day, several thousand cards pass through the western entrance to Rio Grande Shopping Plaza. Many zoom by chattering away on their cell phones, barely making the mandatory halt at the stop sign at the corner of Petsmart on their way to spend money.
The Herald’s lunchroom overlooks the parking lot, bringing amusement to workers as we eat and watch the passing traffic.
Unless you’ve out of the universe, you know that the economic troubles of the nation are mounting daily, almost hourly, it seems. We are besieged with news of horrible happenings that have driven some to wonder if their life savings are safe in any bank.
There is no news at all, if not bad news in this darkest of all weeks. Will the sun ever shine? Is there a ray of hope left anywhere? News reports have indicated that many are seeking counseling to get them through these days, as money vanishes and many hopes along with it.
As I gazed out the lunchroom window, I noticed one of those poor parking lot trees, nearest the Herald building, covered in white. Why I sympathize with those trees, I don’t know. They face a future like that of a circus animal, no real hope of attaining full stature, natural grace, or the character that was meant to be. They are merely there to break up acres of asphalt parking lot, no more, no less.
There isn’t much left of that one little tree. It looked as if it was afflicted by something. So, I thought, what I was seeing was probably the final indignity for the wee tree, to be wrapped by blowing white shopping bags from the surrounding shopping center.
Curious about that sighting, I walked over to inspect, to see if, in fact, the tree had caught a number of windswept bags on its barren branches.
Much to my surprise, it was not plastic at all, but a profusion of white blossoms, with bees buzzing around them. By gosh, that tree was blooming out of season!
I snapped photos to prove the fact, lest anyone not believe such an occurrence on Oct. 1.
Trees at the center and east end of the parking lot were beginning to change leaf color from summer’s green to the reddish, rust color of autumn, yet here was another tree, totally out of synchronization with its peers, enjoying its springtime.
Could this portend something grand in the universe? Was that blossoming tree trying to tell us something in a floral way of “speaking?” It cannot be that was merely a happenstance of nature.
The message it delivered was where all others have given up hope, one remains to brighten the future. We may be in autumn, but there is newness in at least one that refuses to accept the climate change around it. Call it stubborn, call it climate change, it was still miraculous.
So we see if we look away from the gloom that fills our news reports, and into the natural world, new life is unfolding even in this impossible time. The sun is shining, rain fell to restore water levels, and nature is pursuing its own course.
Could a $700 billion Wall Street bailout package have made that little tree blossom in October? If not, can it be that important?
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