THE WITNESS OF TREES

Posted: 10.10.21 in Articles category

It's October and the trees are changing colour. I look out of my study window and see shades of yellow, orange, brown and green, plus the occasional reddish hue. This year the seasonal promenade of falling leaves is already under way, although the main leaf drop won't happen until next month. Here in central Northumberland it's a case of "November ... and the trees are stripped bare" - adapting the lyrics of a U2 song.

Trees are special, although it seems crass to say that. Their sheer size, solidity, longevity and variety of forms mark them out as jewels of the natural world. They too can be 'signs', pointing to the majesty and beauty of God. Ann Lewin's poem wonderfully captures something of that. We can learn from trees and root ourselves in a divine-sourced peace 'that passes all understanding'.

 

To be in the presence of trees

is to know peace.

The silent rhythm of their life,

bringing maturity in due time,

without anxiety or haste, calms our impatience.

Their solid strength, derived from

hidden roots, spreading much further

than we ever know, gives us security;

grace, beauty, shapeliness and form,

delight our senses, soothe our

fragile nerves and bring refreshment.

Let us in turn be trees,

growing in God's time to maturity,

spreading our roots deep into springs of life,

opening branches wide to all who come

offering strength and healing through our peace.