During the winter storms a tree came down at our place in the mountains. A very close thing it was - trees are amazingly heavy and once on their way down, not much can stop the fall. Why did it fall? No reason I can see. Why that way? Again, no reason. Some would say God guided it to miss the house. The Tenant who's tools were all crushed in the shed would disagree. After standing proudly for around a hundred years, I think it's time had just come. It got too tall, and too top heavy for the soil which anchored it, and it fell the way the wind and gravity took it.
Not only does the falling tree cause damage, so do the roots as they are ripped from the ground. They ripped the stone steps out like they weighed nothing. In case you are not able to see it's true size, my 42" Stihl, the largest chain saw they make, could not reach through. And just to add insult to injury, because of all the fires in California, Farmers had cancelled our insurance and I was not able to find another policy. So we spent this last week camping in the gorgeous forest where my son and grand kids joined us, with perfect weather, and cut up the tree and dug out the stump. I reset and repaired the stairs and deck and the place is almost as good as new.
There was even a bonus. I did not know what to do with all the rounds we cut, so made a set of steps down to the creek. It turned out to be a fun week, full of purpose, challenges and some high adventure (especially dragging the stump up the driveway with a backhoe and innumerable chains)
So I thank God he does not follow us around and make our world perfect. Instead He helps us find joy, even in a fallen tree.
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