A Tale of Two Trees

There were once two trees standing in the middle of an open field next to a brook. They grew up together, and from a distance it was difficult to tell where one tree ended and the other began, because they were so intertwined. They held on to each other in the winter when the cold snows came, in the spring when they were both arrayed in brilliant white, in the summer when their leaves danced in the wind, and in the fall when their colors changed from green to gold. They drank from the brook together and felt the rain on their bark and leaves, then basked in the warm sunshine at the end of each storm. The world was beautiful, and it seemed that it would always be so.

Then one day a man came and dug up one of the trees and took her away. The other tree was heartbroken, standing alone at the edge of the brook, wondering why such a thing had happened and how he would ever find happiness again. He felt the brook as it went by, reminding him of the times he and his friend had tasted its life-giving waters together. When the snows of winter came he stood alone and remembered what it was like to have her next to him. In the spring he remembered how beautiful she had looked in white, in the summer he remembered how they used to dance together, and in the fall he ached for her as his leaves fell softly to the ground.

Seasons came and went, and the tree remained alone. One day at the end of autumn when the first snows were beginning to fall, the tree was preparing for another long, cold winter when he felt a voice deep inside him whisper, "The snow is for you. It feeds the waters of the brook and nourishes your roots. It will make you strong for the coming season." Suddenly the tree realized he was not alone and that someone was watching over him--someone who cared for him deeply. He spent that winter filled with an inner warmth as the cold snow fell all around him.

When the spring came he was grateful for his new leaves and the cool flowing waters of the brook, but he felt an emptiness inside when he thought of his friend and the memories they had once shared. "These memories are for you," the voice inside him spoke again. "Some trees grow in forests, surrounded by others. Some trees grow in small groups, and still others grow alone. I know exactly what each tree needs, for I created them all. I know you have long felt sorrow for the loss of your friend, but grief only comes to those who have known great love. Be grateful that you once loved enough to grieve, and treasure every memory that remains."

Throughout that spring and summer, the tree counted his blessings. He rejoiced in the renewal of spring as birds built nests in his branches and cared for their young, and he let his branches sway gently in the wind while he basked in the summer sun. But in the autumn as his leaves began to change, he remembered how his friend had held him in winters past and again felt a deep sense of loss. Once more the voice came to him and whispered, sending shivers through every branch and twig: "Listen." The tree quieted his troubled heart and felt the rich soil beneath his roots and the constantly stirring air around him. For many days and nights he absorbed his surroundings, alternately feeling the sunshine and starlight on his branches. The day the first snows began to fall, as he was drinking from the brook for what was perhaps the last time that season, he felt a calm assurance come over him. He couldn't say exactly how it came or where it had come from, but he knew, as surely as he knew that spring followed winter, that he and his friend would always be connected by their love for each other and by the love of their Creator. Then the voice spoke to him once more, saying, "Be at peace." In that moment he was, and he knew that he would continue to find comfort whenever it was needed.