I cleaned the Cottage today, getting it ready for our next guests. Afterwards…
I couldn’t help myself—the hammock was calling my name.
I looked up. Gnarly old trees above me. Standing tall. Enjoying the sunshine, just like I was.
Waiting to burst forth new leaves. A new season, just around the corner.
Then it hit me… those gnarly old trees? Probably not much older than I am.
And then another thought… maybe I, too, am gnarly and old!
Oh, the things those trees have seen. Oh, the things I have seen.
The world is in turmoil. But you know what?
Just like the trees—missing branches, shaped by the wind’s turbulence—
We, too, will continue on. A little rougher around the edges. Maybe a little more cynical.
But we’ll dig in. Strengthen our roots. Find symbiosis with neighbors, family, friends.
We might look worse for wear, but we will leave our mark.
Let’s make sure it’s the right mark.
Like the trees, let’s weather the storms with grace. Let’s offer shade, shelter, and strength to those who need it.
Not just for those who can help us climb higher. Not for wealth.
But because, in the end, the measure of our lives won’t be in what we’ve gained—
It will be in the roots we’ve planted and the lives we’ve touched.