Two Towers Stumped - A 9/11 Lesson

I arrived at church this morning thinking thoughts of 9/11, the 2001 version. From a church-goers perspective, that event had beefed the attendance and had created a congregation of two mindsets. Those who had confidence in their eternal salvation were thinking eschatologically, while those who lacked such assurance were seeking hope for their souls.

Now, a decade further into world history, another fair September day, a special service had been set to focus on the current phase of mankind's long war against God and God's prophesied plan for the restoration of Israel.

I was walking up to the front doors when I saw it. Another two towers had fallen, chopped down by another intentional act of violence. These two towers were trees. For as long as I have attended this church, I have watched these two trees grow. Last spring they were a delight to see as their leaves emerged in perfect symbolic cadence with the Resurrection season. This summer they had been a joy as the trees were finally large enough to offer serious protective shade for after-church chatting. Now they were gone. Two stumps greeted the worshipers that day.

I asked if they had been diseased. I had not noticed any disease, but sometimes an insect attack can take out healthy trees in just days. No, the answer that I received was that they were tired of raking leaves!

I am pretty sure they destroyed over a thousand dollars worth of property value by hewing down those two trees. If these trees had been lost as a result of a storm or by vandalism, there surely would have been an insurance benefit. The International Society of Arboriculture uses a copyrighted formula to determine the value of landscape trees. Texas A & M also has an appraisal method. Both take four things into consideration when determining value, and the two trees at my church would have rated well on all counts.
• Size – Trunk diameter is measured a couple feet above ground level. This would have been a little tricky because the trees were an ornamental that grew in a clump. They had grown almost ¾ of the way to their mature 40' spread.
• Species – From what I have been able to determine on a web search, these were bore-resistant ornamental trees, valued for landscaping.
• Condition – I have never seen the roots, but the above ground structural integrity seemed fine. If leaf loss was a problem, I will comment on that later.
• Location – The placement, functional and aesthetic contributions of these trees were wonderful. The root systems did not threaten sidewalks or parking lots. They had exfoliating bark that added interest even in winter.

The Lesson – Weary of raking leaves.

One cannot grow trees, children, or churches by getting tired of raking leaves

All year long our church has been proclaiming "The Year of New Beginnings." Every week the people have been met with a visual of a seedling to promote the concepts of refreshment and renewal. Our pastor is on a much needed sabbatical this month. Apparently the men in charge of grounds keeping need a sabbatical too. What will they do when that new seeding gets big enough to shed its leaves?

Leaf fall is part of the normal cycle for deciduous trees. When drought comes, a tree will shed its leaves early as a defense mechanism to save itself. When a tree is losing leaves in August instead of October, the answer is not to run for the nearest chainsaw. The answer is to get out the hosepipe and give it some water, for crying out loud!

Our congregation's stated vision is to restore abundant life. That takes water, not an axe.

I am positive that no one was "led" of the Holy Spirit to cut down those trees. I highly doubt anyone even prayed about it. If they did, tell me and I will come back and print a retraction.

The trees did not chop themselves down. They were not "asking for it" either. By dropping their leaves, they were only protecting what God had given them. If I were in charge, I would not let anyone touch those stumps! If by some miracle they put out new shoots in the spring, I would let them grow. It would be a bittersweet reminder of what happens to lives that are destroyed by other fools and of how God is faithful.