Family

Two weeks with various configurations of family have been wonderful. In Alabama, Max and I were able to be with all of my first cousins, and their children, on my mother’s side. We also saw my aunt and uncle, my mother’s sister and brother. In Nashville we got to visit with my Great-Aunt Annie Sue who will be 102 in October. She is amazing.

The real surprise at almost the last minute was the chance to see one of my father’s nephews, Steve, whom I had not seen since I was about 6 years old. Steve lives in Seattle, but had been working in NC. We spent Monday morning getting to know each other while visiting some gravesites, and places where family had lived, including the site of our great-great-grandparents’ brickyard.

Max discovered writing on Steve & my great-great-grandfather Joseph Hauerwas’ gravestone. Born in Germany, he came to America as a child with his family. Within a couple of years of immigrating, his parents died weeks apart leaving the children at the mercy of an uncle who “took them in,” but also appropriated their property. Members of their church went to court to have their property returned to the children. Their uncle was also ordered to provide winter coats, a necessity for the bitter cold of Minnesota.

Family can sometimes be our genetic kin, but family can also be those who surround us with care and compassion. This summer, our actual family has surrounded us with love and care, as has the family of our church. As members of Joseph’s church came to his rescue so our church has offered us real support.

Acts 4:33-34a

With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them.

Arboreal Suicide

I have another tree reflection. We have a beautiful, huge tulip/poplar tree in our back yard.  It's the species that the City of Falls Church chose for it's 2011 tree of the year. It's been a bumper crop year for its seedlings. I have been pulling them up all over the yard, including in the front.

Last week before we headed out of town, I had two tree companies come give me estimates for clearing out all the dead limbs from all my trees. I don't want to deal with the damage they could cause this winter or next spring. One good sized branch fell from from our oak into our yard in early June, spearing the ground where I had been mowing just minutes before. Another fell from a non-flowering cherry into our neighbor's yard the day Jeff died. Graciously Maria said she would deal with it's cleanup. Luckily, none of the children in her daycare were out back when it fell.

Back to our huge poplar tree. Looking around back, one tree guy noticed insect damage in the bark, and pulled a section of bark away from the base. Underneath, the wood looked black, and had a hole in it. He stuck in a twig all the way and asked for a screwdriver. I brought a long one. That went straight in all the way. He asked for something longer. I brought out a crowbar which went in for over a foot with no resistance. Uh oh. Not good news.

He noted a root which had, decades ago, wrapped itself around the base of the tree instead of going out into the yard. He said that this root has choked the tree in that area causing it to decay, inviting insects to aid in the process. This beautiful, huge tree has been committing arboreal suicide (Max's term for it), necessitating it's removal soon.

How often do we act as if everything is okay in our lives, yet by some perhaps either intentional or inadvertent action we choke off the possibilities of fully living, maybe even leading to great damage? It is important to keep in close relationship with those who will speak truth and help us clear away those things that would choke out life.

Thanks be to God that there are possibilities for hope and life beyond. Forgiveness and redemption offer new life for us. And even the wood of the tree can be used again. 

Interwoven Roots

The giant sequoia is an amazing tree. While it can grow quite tall, it gets its name more from the girth of the tree. Besides its magnificent appearance, what really amazes me about this tree is its root system. Most of its roots are just under the surface, no more than four or so feet down. Think about it. These trees can grow 250 to 280 feet tall, and yet have roots that go down no more than four feet under ground. What keeps them from falling over? Well, the root system is quite wide; it can go as far as 150 feet out from the tree, but what really makes it so stable is that as it goes out it becomes interwoven with the roots of other trees. These amazing trees stand so tall because they have each other.

In theory, I have known how important it is to have a community of people in one’s life, however I have often found myself standing alone. Usually it’s because I think I shouldn’t need other people’s help--that I should be able to manage on my own, or because I don’t want to impose on others.  What I have come to experience this summer is a community as wide as the root system of the giant sequoias, and as interwoven.

All sorts of people have surrounded my young men and me, offering expressions of care that range from notes, cards and emails to meals, yard work, help with sorting, and arms to hug. These have come from people I have known for years, even decades, but also from some I have only recently met.

I stand because you stand around me. You make it possible for me to lift up my branches in praise and thanksgiving. Thank you.

Max and I fly off to spend time with family this month. I will send missives from the hinterlands of the Texas hill country. And I will see you in September.

Isaiah 55:12

For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you
shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Pruning

I have been reading Bearing Fruit: Ministry with Real Results and discussing it on Facebook with some colleagues. As we read the part about the pruning that is necessary, I was reminded of times in my ministry when even fruitful vines were pruned. It was always painful and I couldn’t see the results immediately, but eventually I could begin to see new fruit.

In my gardening, sometimes I am led to prune back a tree or shrub extensively so that it looks a bit bare, but the next season it usually begins to grow vigorously. If it were left to grow completely in its own way, it could have a beautiful wildness to it, but it wouldn’t necessarily work well with its neighbors. I’m not talking about making a manicured landscape of such precision that a single errant branch ruins the whole look, but about encouraging the most fruitful and beautiful growth possible.

In this season of my life, I am taking stock of what is necessary for growth, and comfort, but also of what things can go, or need to go. I could just keep all of the stuff Jeff and I accumulated over the years, and keep walking in the same paths around the house, but I don’t want to stagnate. I want to continue to grow and be fruitful so that means using a critical eye, a bit of trimming—not too much (especially for the boys’ comfort), and having trust in God’s guidance for the fruit that lies ahead.

John 15:1-2

”I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. ²He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.