I saw a damaged, broken tree this week, with a huge base and three large trunk sections reaching up to the sky.  It must have been a majestic, towering tree at one time.  But not anymore.  Lightning or some catastrophe of nature destroyed one of the large trunk sections.  This left a gaping hole in the main trunk that allowed water and the elements to attack the inside of the tree.  The tree, although still alive now, was rotting and dying inside.

That tree broke my heart and I could only cry.  I wanted to hug the tree and say “I know how you feel.  That is exactly how I feel.”  Once, our family tree had three beautiful, strong, loving branches.  A huge branch of our family tree has broken off – by catastrophe.  The two remaining branches are mortally wounded – alive, but dying inside.  Just like that tree, our exterior looks alive to all the world.  We look like a fine, strong, family tree.  But there is a gaping hole – a horrible wound – from which there is no recovery.  Like the tree, we just go about our day to day life as best we can – but the damage, the pain is always there.  We are a broken family tree.

I stepped closer to the tree, somehow wanting to emotionally comfort this tree.  Then I saw it.  In the midst of the tree’s pain and brokenness, there are two little buds, two beautiful, powerful little buds!  There is hope, where there is the love of the GREAT SPIRIT – HOPE.

The tree comforted me!!  Thank you, Brother Tree.