The Catholic Writers Guild

For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help.

– Ecclesiastes 4:10 (RSVCE)

After a 500-mile trip through several states, I at last drove over the familiar unpaved roads bordered by towering birches and pines. Turning into the pine-needled driveway, our rustic family cabin came into view.

I was shocked and dismayed to see in front of the cabin a massive tree leaning at a fatal angle, its roots beginning to upend. Over the winter, the base had developed a deep crack which at any moment could split fully in half and demolish our shed. The only thing holding it up was a huge, ancient tree, which the previous year had been marked for removal.

These friendly “Tree Beards” had neighbored our cabin for the past three generations. How thankful I was for this old-tree’s continued presence there to hold up its neighbor in time of need.

Thank you, Lord, for the important work you have for us to do, even when we feel old and half-dead!

Copyright 2022 Lisa Livezey