The Red Tree…The MoonFlower… And The Beautiful Toothless Smile…
God wants us to enjoy life. He wants us to participate in the life he’s blessed us with. He wants us to notice the little signs that he is with us and wants to peak our curiosity so we want more of his blessings. Let me give you just three examples.
The amazing red tree…
A few years ago, around 10:00 a.m., I was walking a path along the Minnesota River. Just a few hours earlier a severe thunderstorm had hit our area. The lighnting had been dancing through the sky like a spectacular light show.
As I was walking I noticed something bright red in the distance. As I got closer I was awe struck. Lightning had obviously struck a huge tree and shredded a long strip of it’s bark leaving it’s exposed trunk, which was bright red. I had never seen anything like it.
As I was standing next to it taking pictures, a couple walked up. They said they had walked by it earlier and didn’t even notice it. In fact they said if I wouldn’t have been standing by it they would have missed it again. All I could think was…it’s right by the path and it’s bright red! How could you not notice it?!
I was anxious to get home so I could do some research on Google but was disappointed when I couldn’t find anything like it. So I found contact information for the University of Minnesota and my local DNR and sent them pictures.
Here was their response.. “Well, unfortunately we could not find an answer to the red inside of your tree. My advisor has been in the field for a very long time and has never seen anything like this. We also checked our online database and other search engines and could find nothing similar. The best answer we could determine is that it was hit by lightning and the cambium (new cell growth right underneath the bark) reacted in a way that discolored itself. There are no trees that have red cambium, so this is either a very rare and unique tree or it reacted differently than the usual tree. I’m sorry we couldn’t be more helpful. We really like the pictures you sent us, though. It was definitely something different!”
And… “My concern now is whether the tree will survive the lightning hit.”
That tree is still growing tall and healthy, with only a scar to show it’s past struggle. It’s kind of like people… we have scars, but we keep growing stronger because of them.
The hitchhiker among the morning glories…
That same summer I had a trellis with morning glories planted in it. One morning I went out there to find a huge white flower in the midst of them. It was beautiful. I googled it immediately and found out it was a moonflower. A seed must have gotten mixed in with the others and it was a beautiful surprise.
That beautiful flower reminded me of the quote from Dr. Seuss that I love so much; “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”
The beautiful toothless smile…
Not too long ago I passed an elderly gentleman in the parking lot and he smiled this huge happy toothless smile at me that was amazing. It was one of those smiles where his whole face smiled. You know the kind…where the smile is so big you can hardly see their eyes because they’re squinted together.
I stopped and told him he had a beautiful smile and I thanked him for sharing it with me. He didn’t know what to say and the tears filled his eyes. My guess is, he hadn’t heard that in a very long time.
I squeezed his hand, thanked him again and said God Bless You. He smiled and said; “Thank You“.
What are life’s treasures…
Life’s treasure’s can’t be seen if you are just focusing on the end result. They can’t even be seen if you’re rushing constantly through your day to day life. They can only be seen by slowing down a little and enjoying the journey along the way to your desires and goals.
It’s by recognizing all these things along your path that make you smile and see God’s glory everywhere.
It’s about noticing the Red Tree and the MoonFlower. It’s about noticing the Love of God in a toothless smile from a stranger and thanking him for sharing that with you.
You have a rich life…
As soon as you stop reading this, look around until you see something that makes you smile. Maybe your dog running around outside, or your children playing in the yard. Maybe it’s your significant other sitting and reading in the other room or the glass of your favorite wine and a chocolate chip cookie that are sitting next to you waiting for you to enjoy them.
Whatever it is that makes you smile, stop and embrace how it makes you feel inside. Allow yourself to just hold on to that for a few seconds before you hurry off to do something else. These moments help us grow into compassionate people. People who truly care.
Essential Oil Choice…
Present Time – This blend was specifically created to help bring people into the moment. We must live in the moment in order to heal. How to use – Apply over the thymus, neck and forehead.
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