few and far between

Where I live trees are few and far between. But I'm thankful for the few we have here. I think trees are beautiful all year round. Call me weird but I like them better than flowers. (If only I could carry a small tree down the aisle.)

In the spring they're budding and coming alive.
Full of green in the summer.
A rainbow of color in the fall.
Crystallized in the winter.
Beautiful. All year round.

Since I have few trees here, they are emphasized. Sitting under one for shade is so much more sweet and just passing one might causes you to turn and look. However, what I might be most thankful for is how they tell me how windy it is outside. Many times trees have saved me for a run against the wind or a hairstyle ruined. Thanks for the forewarning trees. I even admire trees sometimes because though the wind comes and shakes them, they do not waver from the solid ground they stand in.

We moved out of my childhood home in third grade. When I lived there, there were a few baby trees surrounding the yard, barely taller than me. Last weekend when I went home I decided to take the long way into town, as I sometimes do to pass by my old home, stirring up old memories. When I passed by the trees were huge. They had grown up. Then I realized so had I, it wasn't only the trees that changed. It made me really think about all I had been through and all they had been through.

I have no idea how long those trees will continue to grow or how long they will stand there in that ground, surrounding that yard but I hope that they bring peace, joy and comfort to those living there. I hope as I grow and stand in whatever ground the Lord places me that I can do the same to those around me, changing through seasons, staying strong through harsh winds, and standing out when there are few and far between.