Burst of Gold

Here's a picture of our birch tree in all its autumn splendor. I had hoped to get a picture of it yesterday, but I didn't. Yesterday was a gorgeous balmy day and the birch tree's leaves looked like pure gold in the sunshine. The kids and I were working outside and we stopped to take a moment to relish the beauty of our birch tree.

When I was a little girl, I sat in my grandparents' cozy kitchen and looked out the window at their beautiful birch tree. I remember many a quiet conversation with my grandparents as we sat under that tree in the glider on their deck. My aunt and uncle live in that house now. The birch tree still stands in their yard and I still see it when we sit down to eat a meal with them in their kitchen. That's why I love our birch tree so much.

Shortly after we moved here, one of our big maple trees fell down in a wind storm. One of the other maples had to be removed when we had to put in a new septic drain field. Another tree on our property should be removed as it has suffered irreversible damage due to lack of water over the years. But the birch tree still stands. It has birch borers, but the aborist that looked at the tree said treatment will fix the problem and it will survive.

God is so gracious. When I look out my kitchen window, I'm reminded of how He can do "immeasurably more than what we could ask or think." After all, He gave me my very own birch tree. Today the kids played under the birch with their Grandma as the tree "snowed" leaves of gold. They pressed the prettiest of the leaves between sheets of waxed paper, a reminder of Fall and God's goodness. Yes, God is indeed good and worthy to be praised.

"You alone are the LORD;
You have made heaven,
The heaven of heavens, with all their host,
The earth and everything on it,
The seas and all that is in them,
And You preserve them all.
The host of heaven worships You." Neh. 9:6