The big Eastern White Pine tree that grew at the south-west corner of the house was recently removed by the local power company. When it was planted several decades ago little thought was given to its potential size, and its expansive limbs grew gracefully between the electrical wires. During storms, and there are many of them here, the branches would hit the wires as well as the sides of the house. During one particularly nasty winter, three massive limbs broke off due to the snow loads. The blessing was that they brushed against and then fell free of the power lines, and completely missed the house and wooden stockade fence.
I had prayed many times about that tree. It needed to be removed and I could not pay to have that done. It was ruining the siding of the house. It was a threat to my neighbors during the winter because of its potential of creating a power outage. It grew only feet from my bedroom wall and I feared a wind shear or tornado would drive it through the roof. I loved that tree. I was also frightened by it.
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| A reminder of attentiveness. |
My prayers were answered this spring when a representative from a tree trimming service hired by the power company came to my door. The young man who stood there very respectfully explained about the pruning that would take place in a few weeks. As I walked outside with him, he carefully tried to describe to me what this stately pine would look like if they trimmed it back the required distance to free the power lines. While he spoke I was secretly hoping that the Holy Spirit had moved someone somewhere to answer my earlier prayers. When he asked permission to completely remove the tree I nearly squealed. He looked at me startled and a little relieved as I exuberantly answered “Oh yes, please”!
Having an overgrown tree removed may not seem like suitable stuff for prayers, especially when I think about a friend dying of cancer or the violence in the world. Yet, there it is once again, God’s attentiveness to the smallest details in my life. I sometimes think God just wants to see me wriggling with delight.
