DRY AND WRINKLED, BUT STILL BEAUTIFUL

 After watching the movie "Into the Wild", I had been thinking about how I needed to enjoy nature more. I took a leisurely walk down Stackhouse Park to spend time with God. I started my usual ritual of thinking who needed prayer and started praying. It was frustrating and dry. It was exhausting me and I felt God say be quiet - listen, look. I had to really put an effort forth to quiet my mind, but as I did, I began to notice cream colored leaves standing out on some of the trees. It was early spring and everything was dead and gray. I thought it was interesting that these leaves were still hanging on and that they looked pretty to me in the dead gray forest.

As I pondered this, I realized something . . . that was me. I had been through a very long, hard, brutally cold winter, but I was still connected to the branch. Maybe a little dry and wrinkled, but still beautiful and hanging on, shedding some light in the dark forest. I thought . . . Soon this tree will bloom again. As I neared the end of my walk, several pine trees showed themselves strong and green, even after an unbearable winter.  I said to myself, I want to be like them someday.