The Tree

This summer, Shad, the kids and I spent a lot of evenings at the neighborhood park.  Shad was training for hunting season and I was trying to stay in shape, so we would run there.  The big kids would ride their bikes, Shad would push Bethany in the stroller and I would just run.  After the three quarter mile run to the park, Shad and the kids would play and I would make laps around the park while zoning out listening to my Christian music on shuffle.

At the park, there is this tree.  It’s tall and gangly and stands alone on top of a small hill.  The first time I really noticed the tree was during an early morning run last spring.  I was dying, trying to push Bethany in the stroller up that small hill when I noticed a banging noise over the music flowing into my ears from my headphones.  I stopped and took off my headphones only to realize that the banging noise was the sound of a wood pecker banging it’s beak on the side of a branch in the tall, gangly tree standing alone atop the hill.  We were the only ones in the park that morning, Bethany and I and the wood pecker.  I stopped and watched the bird for a few seconds, then continued making laps around the park.  Later, when I proceeded straight to head back into the neighborhood to go home, I saw the wood pecker fly ahead of us out of the park. 

I have never seen, or heard, another wood pecker in that park, but I always look in the tall, gangly tree for it.

 

One evening I was doing my laps with music blasting in my ears, the usual.  As I made the left turn to start the ascent up the hill, I noticed the tall, gangly tree.  It looked very lonely sitting there by itself.  At that very moment I heard God’s voice down in my soul.  He told me, “that tree is your baby in Bulgaria.”  As soon as I heard that tears filled my eyes.  At the same time the song I was listening to was saying a line about God loving the least of these.  As I continued up the hill, I noticed that the tree had no foliage on it.  It is not a thriving tree and it is all alone on the hill.

I made the lap around and as I made that left turn again to start up the hill, I looked up at the tree and the sun was setting behind it.  There was a beautiful golden glow and all I could see was the silhouette of the tall, gangly tree.  As I was stopping to take a picture, I noticed that I could see the silhouette of Shad and kids playing on the playground together just below the tall, gangly tree.  God told me, “your WHOLE family will play here together soon.”  My eyes filled with tears as I took the picture of my WHOLE family at the park that evening.

Every time I go to the park, now, the first thing I look for is that tall, gangly tree standing atop the small hill and I smile.  I pray that God would watch over our baby in Bulgaria, that she would feel His love and protection over her tall, gangly body and that she would know that she is not alone as she waits for Mom and Dad to come get her.