Angel Tree

Back in the summer during our visit to Charleston, SC, our friends Scott and Cindy took us to see The Angel Tree. All along the road cars were parked and people were walking to see this wonderful thing. A tree. One tree. I couldn’t understand all the hype leading up to the site of the tree- traffic, people everywhere on the road, a fence, a gatekeeper, park rules posted, and even a gift shop, really? If anyone would want to go in a gift shop at the site of a tree it would be my friend Erin, but I didn´t know there were enough other tree fans out there to support a gift shop! But hey, what a tree! I first heard about this tree while watching The Outerbanks on Netflix. I mean if it’s in a TV show, it must be impressive, right?

It did not disappoint! A tree that took up more square footage than the average home with limbs that were bigger than the average full grown tree trunk and had to be propped up on poles.

I knew two things had to happen here. I had to have my picture taken and I had to find some acorns.

We all know about the mystery of a tiny acorn becoming a mighty oak tree. Glenn and I have recently put that analogy into our life soundtracks list. A soundtrack is a saying you have playing on repeat in your head. (For more explanation on that subject get your hands or ears on Soundtracks by Jon Acuff.) Since we have recently launched out into a new ministry and few other new things in life, it has been good to remember things like-

Even the biggest oak was once a little acorn.

Noone becomes great at something without first being a beginner.

It’s ok to be a novice.

It was a beautiful thing to hold several acorns in my small hand while standing in the shadow of the enormous tree that once was such a small thing. I am reminded of my own smallness in the great scheme of things, the smallness of the ways I serve and love others and I ask God to grow them, to use me and my acorn-like acts of love to make an Angel Tree-sized difference for someone. Right now I’m going to take a glass of water to a dear one in my living room. This morning I took a friend’s glasses to the repair shop. Just acorns. May we all seek to do the acorn-sized acts so that our loved ones have a few “oak trees to shade their path” in life.