The Trees

Right now I'm sitting on the deck behind my house looking out at our little stand of trees. It isn't very thick and I can see the houses behind us through it even though all the trees are summery green. The view from the Captain's deck is very different. There the trees seem to go on endlessly and are filled with so much wildlife and plant life. There is something so magical about the forest. Every forest is so different from the others, but they all seem so timeless, almost ageless because the trees seem so old but feel so alive. 

I have many fond memories of following Aisling out into the forest. Memories of exploring, of running, discovering, and of sitting on fallen logs for hours just talking.

I live in a suburb, and Aisling and the Captain live out in their woods. There is a small “woods” a few rows of houses behind mine and it seemed reasonable to think that since I enjoyed being in the woods that I should spend some time in one nearby. This thought kept occurring in my head the past few years and every once and awhile I would make my way through the houses, feeling stares on my back from the owners who I knew must be watching me, and hide myself in the trees.

But what I encountered was a very different forest than I was expecting. No one had come into that forest in a very long time. The only signs of other humans were a few rotting boards hanging from rusty nails in a tree and other debris from a tree house on the ground below. The underbrush was dense with thorny branches and sounds from yards nearby startled me. There were no paths or open spaces for walking and the dried old leaves were thick and made harsh sounds as I stepped through them. Then my imagination began to get the better of me. Every bird that moved was at first a coyote in my mind, and every dark space held rabid creatures snarling in their dens as they prepared to leap out at me.

After a few minutes of panic I would turn, fully expecting something to attack me from behind, and hurry back to the road. Once I was on asphalt again and out of the leaves I would run back across the backyards until I reached the shade from the giant oak that shelters my back yard.

The problem, I've decided, isn't that this bunch of trees happens to be more wild (and in actuality it probably has nothing but birds, squirrels, and an occasional raccoon or deer because of it's nearness to the housing development.) The real problem was that I didn't have Aisling or the Captain. The forest is beautiful but not the kind of beautiful I can enjoy on my own the way I enjoy the ocean. What allowed me to enjoy the forest was being with my friends, enjoying the forest because they enjoy the forest so much. And because they enjoy the forest so much I'll never forget moments like dashing through the trees after Aisling, feeling not fear but an adventurous spirit coursing through me, or wading up and down the creek with the Captain shortly after we started courting.

Maybe someday I'll be able to take the Captain or Aisling to the ocean and show them the cliffs, the tide pools with the little snails, the warmness of the sand, and the tugging of the waves. I don't think they'll take it in the same way I do, but I hope that it will still create memories they'll never forget of simply being together surrounded by the awesome creativity and beauty of our God.