Well – today is Easter, and I don’t want to work too hard on anything, but this I consider a labor of love. It will probably be a two day post because it may get complicated, long, and kinda controversial. But, hey – nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? This may require some of you to throw off blinders or conventions and THINK for yourself. In the end, if you still disagree with me, hey – no harm, no foul. I am not claiming this to be truth – merely my opinion based on deep rational thought exercises done after extensive studies of scriptures and expert analysis on the subject while in college. The truth is, no one alive today is certain – what it really boils down to is a matter of translation combined with good old common sense. What I will be offering is something few people will allow – a window from my bare heart into my soul, and in the process, a picture of how I see my Lord and Savior Jesus. It involves trees and rocks and how I grew to respect mother earth and have a love for all living things. Rednecks can be tree huggers too.<\/p>\n
So… What prompted this? Well. Anyone who knows where we live knows that within the last year or so the farmhouse has undergone a MAJOR change in look. There were two ancient maple trees that guarded the north side of the house – one on the west corner, and one on the east corner. The hurricanes last fall knocked the tree on the west corner down, and in the process, knocked our power lines out – for a week. In an effort to prevent the tree on the east corner from falling on the house, pops decided to have it cut down. I must pause here and say that right, wrong, or indifferent, I appreciate pops’ intention, even though I disagreed with his decision. I did not tell you WHY I disagreed with you daddy – so I will here. I carry a lot of guilt for killing live trees when I was younger. That is why I cried when I saw how healthy the east side tree was. I have come to hold the opinion that live trees should only be cut down when absolutely necessary. They are our greatest protectors and filter our waste. I have learned as I have aged just how majestic and beautiful they really are. You know who else knew that? Mama. That is why she had the English ivy cut off of it. A tree of that size and majesty cannot be replaced in my grandchildrens’ lifetime. If the tree had fallen on the house, it would have been terrible and tragic. But we could have rebuilt the house. We have insurance for that. We cant replace that tree. Learn from that folks… At the very least, we could, should, would, ought, why didnt we hire an arborist to check the health of the tree and\/or make a suggestion? Was it really that pressing?<\/p>\n
Dont take my word for it. Listen to the man in black. He is a whole lot wiser than me.<\/p>\n