The Little Tree That Could (Reposted from Facebook)

I originally posted this on Facebook in the summer of 2012, and I thought it would make a great first entry as we get to know each other. The tree has since been relocated.

"In the spring of 2010, just six short months after purchasing our beautiful first home, I began my first attempt at gardening. The previous owners of our house, or possibly those before them, planted a rose garden by the front steps. It's a beautiful garden with many colors and breeds of roses. As I pruned and plucked the old leaves and deteriorating rose buds from the bushes, I noticed something that seemed out of place. A lone sapling, no more than 10 inches tall, stood boldly in the front of the garden. I'm not much of a gardener, but if there's one thing I knew, it was that this tree would grow and block the sunlight and water to my rose bushes, eventually killing them. I couldn't let this evil tree destroy my precious flowers, so I took my shears and cut it's base in half. No more tree.

Winter came and passed, and behold, it was again time to tend to the roses. For a month or two, all was as it should have been. Then seemingly over night, just as boldly as it had done once before, a sapling began to grow from the dead trunk I sliced the year before. It seemed a matter of principle at this point that I should reign victorious over this pesky, sun-stealing enemy. Again, I took my shears. I made sure to cut as closely as possible to the ground. I was meticulous... flawless even. I won. The tree was gone forever, and my beautiful roses could flourish in their perfect, sunny location.

As odd as it may sound, I thought about this tree from time to time over the next winter. I imagined how resilient it must have been to have survived such a treacherous battle. I was saddened this spring when I began my yearly pruning, and the tree did not return. For a month I watched and waited, sure to see my nemesis, but there was no sign of him. He had left me for good. Gone to tree heaven to all the great oaks and redwoods with whom he surely belongs.

At the beginning of May, I went to check on my roses, and there he was. Standing one foot tall and victorious was the sapling I left for dead. What overwhelming will and strength stood before me! Despite my best efforts to tear him down, he lives. His scars are a reminder of the pain I put him through, but his triumph is a lesson in my life that I shouldn't soon forget. We struggle through this cruel, scary world. We see and hear of atrocities every day that seem worse than the day before. But, those of us who have a desire for life will not only survive, but we will live. We will be the examples that change other people. We will be the saplings who come back year after year building a strong base, a foundation of experience.

My prayer for you is that you will find the strength to rebuild. For every battle that tears you down, remember this sapling, who to this day is flourishing in my rose garden. Eight feet of tree in only three months. It's amazing what we can do if we try."