Trees: Surviving Winter in April

By the end of March, the snow around our house was melting fast. The first blades of grass of the new season were beginning to pop up. I was late in pruning the shrubs back…new growth was already beginning to appear on the branches I was cutting. The buds on the Birches and Cottonwoods were about to burst open. Even the Larches seemed ready to show their color. The warm weather in the first two weeks of April did nothing to slow them down. Spring was here…or so it appeared.

It was late in the afternoon of the second Thursday in April. I finished up in the office and headed out for my daily walk with the dogs. Even though I had talked to several people earlier in the day who said there was some snow headed in from the west, I had not seen a flake. A few minutes later, I was half a mile from the house when the clouds opened; Buckwheat, Rascal, Spanky, Darla and I were covered with snow. Winter was back.

I was a bit disappointed that the ground was once again white, covering the green, new growth of Spring, but I also wondered about the effect of sub-freezing temperatures, snow and ice on the new growth. For example, someone said that the cherry trees could be adversely affected by the weather. Every year, fruit-bearing trees, vines and crops are at the mercy of the whims of the weather. Somehow, they make it.

In a symbolic sense, we undergo a lot of the same kind of environmental adversities as trees, vines and crops. Sometimes the circumstances we encounter in life hit us like a Spring freeze. Right when things were beginning to take off, we suffer a setback. Sometimes the adversity can be like a summer drought or a runaway forest fire. Not all survive the adversities as well as others.

The Bible often compares us to plants and trees. In the same way that all plants and trees don't survive the environmental adversities, not all people successfully handle the circumstances of life. Those who do are compared to the healthy trees that survive meteorological adversities year after year. The Psalmist wrote about one who survived…even flourished:

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. (Psalms 1:1-3 NIV)

One of the secrets to longevity for a tree is a close proximity to a consistent water source. As essential as streams of water are to healthy and productive trees, the Psalmist says 'the law of the Lord'-Scripture-is equally as essential to us. But, in the same way that all trees and plants don't produce just because water is present, not all people respond positively to the availability of Scripture in their lives. St. Mark records the parable that addresses the different response people have to Scripture:

"Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times." (Mark 4:3-8 NIV)

Then, the parable is explained:

The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop--thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown." (Mark 4:14-20 NIV)

The word-Scripture-is received differently by different people. Some don't want to listen at all…as if birds are eating the seeds as soon as they hit the ground. Some listen and like what they hear, but when they experience difficult circumstances in life, they turn away from God. Others listen, but day-to-day worries of life and believing that material things will make them happy overpower their pursuit of a relationship with God. Finally, some listen…the seed planted in their heart and mind about God sprouts and grows into a productive plant, producing 'a crop-thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown'.

Warm Springs with no late freezes and Summers with plenty of rain and no drought…any tree can survive. Life with no adversities, always happy, plenty of toys, good health…any person can survive.

The real test is a hard freeze, a summer drought or a runaway forest fire. Will God be your strength…or will you weather the storms on your own?