Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.
02527 – Trees that Crack; Trees that Bend
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02356 – There’s Always Hope
As I was lying on a gurney in pre-op awaiting knee replacement surgery three days before Christmas, before the “happy drugs” were administered, I noticed a painting on the wall beside the gurney. It was rather nondescript, a field of blue flowers in a garden of rocks...
02340 – “Let Us Fall in Love Again”
Let us fall in love againand scatter gold dust all over the world.Let us become a new springand feel the breeze drift in the heaven’s scent.Let us dress the earth in green,and like the sap of a young treelet the grace from within sustain us.Let us carve gems out of...
02031 – God is Present with Creation
Look at the animals roaming the forest: God’s spirit dwells within them. Look at the birds flying across the sky: God’s spirit dwells within them. Look at the tiny insects crawling in the grass: God’s spirit dwells within them. . . . Look too at the great trees of the...
01808 – The Gospel is Not Just in the Bible Alone
God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars.
01688 – Are Others Happy because of You?
Rivers do not drink their own water; trees do not eat their own fruit; the sun does not shine on itself and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves. Living for others is a rule of nature. We are all born to help each other. No matter how difficult it...
01377 – Waiting Among the Cornstalks
One evening soon after, Sandy and I fell into a conversation about...the crow in the tree. Sandy said, "You know what came to mind when I saw that crow perched over us? I thought of the Native American proberb about the eagle and the crow in each of us. The eagle...
00346 – Faith Expands Like a Tree Grows
Faith grows like a tree, by adding rings… A one-year-old tree is truly and completely a tree. As it develops, it doesn’t become more truly a tree; it only becomes more complex. In the same way, one stage of faith is not better or more truly faith than another… A...
00325 – The Real Pageant
The pageant proceeded as scheduled—Angels, Shepherds, Wise Men, Mary, Joseph, the Christ Child—Children reciting their lines while parents beam with pride. The lights dim, children freeze in place; all is quiet. Then the children get up and leave; the pageant is over....
00266 – Slow Down and Just Be!
When I am constantly running, there is no time for being. When there is no time for being, there is no time for listening. I will never understand the silent dying of the green pie-apple tree if I do not slow down and listen to what the Spirit is telling me, telling...