“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Cor.5:17 (NKJV) In January of 1998, the northeastern United States and parts of Canada experienced the worst ice storm seen in years. People in parts of Maine still talk about “the Ice Storm”. No other description is needed. The extent of the storm left millions without power for days, some even weeks. From the dark living room of my parents’ home, we could hear the massive pine trees snapping under the weight of the ice. It sounded as though we were just outside of a gun range. Driving around and seeing the devastation left me speechless. Trees of all shapes and sizes were decimated. Along the Maine Turnpike, the major road which runs through the state, you could see the birch trees bent completely over, as if bowing in submission to the power of their Creator. So heavy was the ice that these trees remained bent over for months after the ice had left. One of the saddest casualties of this storm for our family was the mighty willow tree that had stood as a sentinel in our yard for many years. My parents driveway is a semicircle and in the middle of this semicircle is a patch of earth from which grew a great willow tree. When the tree grew, the trunk separated into a “Y” shape. Where the two parts of the tree split was just enough room for a child to sit. Many pictures of children, grandchildren, and friends had been taken with the willow as a prominent backdrop. Then came the Ice Storm. Once the ice and rain had finally stopped falling, we ventured out to assess the damage. One of the first things we noticed was the poor old willow tree. Many branches had been bent to the point of snapping off, or had already fallen to the ground under the weight of the ice. Seeing that the broken limbs did the tree no good, and knowing that more limbs breaking off could be potentially hazardous, my parents came to the only conclusion they could. Reluctantly, and despite the tears of my mother, my father took his chainsaw and pruned the rest of the branches until there was little more than a stump left; an ugly, short, brown stump where once there had stood a magnificent, flowing, beautiful willow tree. My mother was heartbroken. There is something peculiar about willow trees that we discovered that year. It seems that willows are known for the strength and tenacity of their root systems. Despite the fact that our poor old willow looked dead to us, beneath the surface, the roots were deeply planted and gaining nourishment from the earth. That spring, we witnessed a miracle. Our poor, old willow tree started to sprout new branches. Today, it is just as beautiful as ever. Each time I visited my parents and saw the incredible growth the tree had made, I would think of the verse that tells us that, “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation…” We, like the mighty willow, must go through a time of pruning. We are broken under the weight of our own sin and guilt, and are broken by the heartaches this world thrusts upon us. Yet Christ comes in to cut away the dead, ugly branches that, left alone, could become more dangerous. To those around us, we may seem to be dead, as though we will never recover. But the one whose roots are firmly planted in the hope of Christ will grow to be even stronger, even more beautiful than before. Praise God that from the death of sin and destruction, He raises a mighty tree!
Posted on: Thu, 25 Jul 2013 23:25:36 +0000