Kirkepiscatoid

Thought I'd share with you a fun picture I took last night. This is a little pine tree I planted the first year I moved here (2000) from one of the notorious "Missouri Conservation Dept. saplings." One of the great bargains in this state is you can get saplings (and I use the term loosely; more like "sticks") from the state nursery every spring, a bundle of 50 or 100 dirt cheap, for windbreaks or erosion control. Now mind you, out of 50, two might live. But in 1996, I bought some saplings when I lived in Columbia, and put them in pots, and by 2000, I had one that looked like a "real tree." I decided to move it with me to Kirksville, and planted it in the fall of 2000.

Eight years have gone by, and I noticed this year, "Hmmmm. It is REALLY looking like a real tree! Whaddya know?"

Last night was the first "tracking snow" of the year. Not good news, b/c in the local folk parlance, the date of the "first tracking snow" is the supposed number of times we will have tracking snow during the winter. Twenty-nine tracking snows does not sound like a great idea...but I never belived that one, so...ok, fine, whatever.

But I went out in the dark and saw my "little" tree, now about eight feet tall. The snow was a wet, "pellet-y" snow and I just stopped and admired the snow on it. It looked just like the "flocking" on the hypothetical "perfect store-bought artificial tree." I stayed out there admiring it long enough to have my eyes and nose start running. Then I decided to see how well it would do with the flash on my camera, and you can see the result!

Tonight, I went out and looked at it some more and thought, "What kind of idiot stands out and stares at a tree in the yard until their snot starts freezing on their face?" Well, I guess the same kind of idiot who "keeps awake" like in our Gospel lesson this week in church (Mark 13:24-37).

I will confess that Advent, the "season of waiting" is not an easy season for me. I am not good at waiting, especially when I am not sure what I am waiting for. But somehow, I was able to wait a grand total of twelve years for the moment in which I saw "The perfect little holiday tree." I did not see that moment, staring at that bundle of so-called "saplings" in 1996. Couldn't even IMAGINE that moment. But there it was.

I had no "visions" of that tree. I had no expectations for that tree. It was more like, "Well, it will probably die, but let's just see what happens with these stupid sticks." I had nothing to go on, and I was rewarded in a way I could not imagine.

Wow, how Advent is that? Joseph, and a pregnant Mary, traveling, well...I imagine people by the side of the road saw something just as unimpressive as what I saw, looking at that bundle of sticks...and look what happened there!

There are times my spiritual journey feels like a crawl. I sometimes think, "I have no idea where this is going," and get impatient. Yet, I waited on a tree for twelve years with no expectations whatsoever. It made me realize that maybe some of the things that happen as I grow deeper in my faith could take twelve years (or longer) before I "see" it. If I can wait on a tree, I can wait on ME.