I was fascinated to learn from my nephew William, how one of the reason these awe inspiring Redwood trees have become one of the oldest organisms living 1000+ years is they can withstand most anything including fires. He said they keep enough water stored away in their trunks that even fire will only scave them.
Growing up as a desert girl, I fell in love with trees living in Sugarhouse amongst so many tall old trees planted by the pioneers. I loved the shade and beauty it provided making neighborhood jogs and stroller walks a pleasant part of my memories of that time in my life.
A couple of years ago I was at work as we just started the day and welcomed back the preschool students. It was a windy day such as is common on a cold winter day in Teasdale. We got word that the buses were coming back to get the kids and deliver them home because of the severe weather. More news came that some neighborhoods and schools had lost power. While many of my coworkers fretted about the storm, I didn't seem that severe to me being raised with wind so I went about my work. Around lunch time the admin kicked us all out and told us to go home. I still didn't see the gravity of the situation until I drove down Emery street and saw a few large pine trees uprooted. The news later reported as well as Bart's parents, JB and Mary and a couple co workers on the disaster that swept through the city tearing up these quiet giants of the city. It puzzled me to think that in all the severe wind storms of Teasdale I never saw one take down a tree yet so many strong trees couldn't withstand one day of severe winds.
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| (photo credit comes from Mary's blog ) |
I am blessed with a yard with lots of trees. Soon after moving in the tallest shadiest trees that produced beautiful May blossoms started dropping most of their limbs. I learned many consider these "trash" trees because they grow really fast but don't have the trunk and root strength to survive. So we cut them down but they continue to produce these annoying shoots that are impossible to kill. One got away from us hiding behind some bushes and didn't get noticed until it had grown taller than our pine tree in the back yard.
We've had a severe drought and some sprinkler problems and I cried to discovered two of my favorite ornamental trees just couldn't survive without the constant supply of water ðŸ˜.
Our hilltop house's yard is the last project we have to do to complete the renovation. We just aren't there enough to keep up with the large yard my mother tended to so many years. As I considered how to restore it back to it's original untouched self I naively thought about simply replanting more of the surrounding juniper trees which seem to somehow stay green with little water. I researched this a bit and discovered that these hardy yet small trees are around 400 years old. In amazement I threw out the ideas that you can just return a yard back to what it was before the bulldozers.
Over labor day we watched as Chap and Branson cut down a large pine tree that had died from an insect infestation. It was pretty cool to watch this massive giant pine fight to stay upright but ultimately succumbed to gravity.
We as humans experience Earthly challenges just as trees do. We also are spiritual beings and experience emotional challenges as well. How do we survive like the redwoods, junipers and the old pioneer trees in Sugarhouse? How can we prevent all the infestations, droughts, and fires we will experience from our time here on Earth? Simply put how do we stay spiritually, emotionally and physically strong?
Over time I've seen someone who I admired and thought was so strong collapse under winds of temptation like the pine trees of Salt Lake.
I've seen sweet sheltered innocent young women I used to serve who were a little different but I loved them for their quirky selves slowly turn bitter and tainted as they found acceptance in peer groups who embrace worldly ideas that ultimately will lead to spiritual death. It's like my cute sheltered ornamental trees in my back yard that caved when water got scarce.
I've seen a friend who I thought was unmovable crumble with the poison of offense from a egocentric priesthood leader in the church just like the pine tree on Thousand Lake Mountain which got infected with bugs.
On the other hand I have a friend after hearing about some hard trials she has gone through and I thought was barely hanging on to the church with so many unanswered questions. She just keeps going to church and continues to grow like the junipers who somehow find the nourishment its needs in dry climates.
I've been the recipient of much needed shade from many different people who willingly stretched out their arms to serve, love and support me when I needed a break from the harsh sun above like my beloved Pioneer Trees in Sugarhouse.
I admire my parents, grandparents and siblings for being so grounded with good sense and hardiness that just like the trees in Teasdale nothing tears them down.
(Must be something in the water there 😉)
It seems that the evils, anxieties, and sadness of the world is fast growing and attractive like my "trash trees" beautiful blossoms in May. It's only a matter of time that the limbs fall off and we are left with annoying shoots that clutter up our lives if we don't constantly work to cut down the shoots.
I know when I nourish my spirit with the living water of the scriptures and humbly prayer I feel more like a redwood and the fire of the world doesn't seem to effect me.
May we each nourish whatever beautiful and unique tree we are meant to be. Some wind and drought is important to stretch our roots and make us strong enough to withstand the severe storms and then we can forget ourselves and find joy in reaching out our limbs and serve and shade others.
