You know it's been cold when the forest that ends up sparking your imagination is on the side of a mug. Seriously. We've been drinking more tea than the Boston Harbor.
Something about this image of a tree stirred me. The reflection seemed intriguing to me, the idea that there are two parallel trees growing at the same time. I thought a lot about the tree growing underground, seeking water like the tree above soaks in sun.
I started reflecting on how that tree grows slowly in the dark, how it moves deeper through thick mud toward what it needs to sustain it and the tree above. It made me, somehow, think of motherhood.
Sometimes, I'll admit, learning to be a mother who loves like Jesus feels like breaking through clay in the recesses of the earth: slow, hard work that feels like a thousand small deaths to self in seeking real life.
However, He invited us to drink. As I seek him, I'm finding what I need to sustain me and provide Elisa with the life that will outlast my life and my love for her. I wrote "Roots" to explore this journey a bit. I follow it up with a poem I wrote in the summer for a friend's wedding since it's also about the forest, sort of.
Enjoy and drink deeply this week, even if it feels like pushing into the dark.
Aspens
For
Michael and Noelle
There
is water below land
our
feet may have wandered,
the
earth laced with veins
flames
will not set ablaze.
Tongues
of fire crown each dancer
as
hectares of hands clap,
jubilee
spun and spread
from
an old rugged Tree.