The Giving Tree

Adventure(r)

Cassie was an adventurer. No matter how big or how small the adventure may have seemed, no matter if it only took you a few miles from where you lived or worked, she was always up for an adventure. That adventurous spirit is one of the many things I loved and miss very much about my friend Cassie.

So, in case you just moved to Kissimmee or even if you’ve been a resident for decades, there is this one spot on Neptune Road. It’s a spot that Cassie wanted badly to visit, that she and I wanted to visit together. Now you may be asking yourself, “Neptune Road, what would be that fantastic on Neptune Road?” (Besides beautiful homes with a lake view.) Well, I’m glad you asked!

You see there is this pretty large tree stump that has, by who I’m not sure, been named The Giving Tree. There were many times that Cassie and I would drive by the spot, and whether I was driving or not, she would ask, “Did you see it? Did you see The Giving Tree?” To which I would answer, “No.” There are no neon arrows pointing to its location, so having someone be the lookout is imperative.

Off the Shelf

The December before Cassie died, we redecorated our office at the church. (Everyone who knew her knows she had a great eye for decorating and she put a lot of thought in to it.) Speaking of shelves, during one of our many trips to IKEA we came across this fabulous set of shelves in the As-Is section. Cassie was so excited, immediately beginning to brainstorm what we could use the shelves for in our office. We finally decided that they would display children’s books.

I still had quite a few books that I saved from my teaching days. Cassie insisted that they should be used as decorative pieces. So, the shelves went up and the books were displayed. Cassie knew that one of my favorite children’s books was The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. I can only guess that the person who made the beautiful sign for the stump on Neptune Road was a fan as well. Excluding the adventure side of it, I’m positive that is why Cassie wanted me to see that spot.

Once there was a tree…and she loved a little boy.

This wonderful children’s classic is about a boy and an apple tree. Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk…and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave. So the tree gives the boy her apples to sell, her branches to build a house, and her trunk to make a boat. By the end, the tree is a stump, but the boy — now a tired old man — needs nothing more than a quiet place to rest, so he sits on the tree and the tree is happy. The end. … They are happy. To this day this story is a touching parable for readers of all ages that offers a perfect picture of the gift of giving, self-sacrifice and love.^{scholastic.com}

God… A Tree

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son…

John 3

God wants us to feel loved, and to know His love, but because of sin that’s not always the case. So, just like the tree, our Father gives us the perfect picture of self-sacrifice, whatever the cost. The tree may have given up all her apples, her branches, her trunk, but our Heavenly Father gave up the greatest of all – His Son, Jesus. As Paul wrote in Philippians, “He emptied himself.” He purposefully gave EVERYTHING He could, so that others could know of His great love for all.

Romans 5:8 tells us that “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Sinners—not friends or strangers, but sinners—which means we had wronged him in a real way. In His great mercy, God erases our offenses and offers us to sit at His table and to become His adopted sons and daughters.^{DesiringGod.org}

Even when we push him away and leave to take our fill of what the world has to offer, he invites us again and again because as James 4:6 says, “he gives more grace.”

Christ… A Tree

Now if you’ve read the book, you have an opinion, a thought, a feeling about it. But I think it’s safe to say that this narrative offers us insight into our relationship with Christ. We just need to think of the tree as Christ and the boy as ourselves. So many times there are things that I want, that I think I need. And when I approach the throne of my Heavenly Father I’m more like the teenage version of the boy from The Giving Tree. Impatient, feeling entitled – that my needs/wants are more important than anything else going on around me. No regard for the One who is caring for me, loving me, blessing me. I think what is most eye opening is that, just like the tree, our Father gives.

But as followers of Christ, we need to remember the sacrifice made, pursue Him and humbly submit to His Lordship. When our satisfaction is found in Him alone we can focus on true worship. We can focus on Him.

And the tree was happy.

Cassie never had the opportunity to visit The Giving Tree. Her husband Rich and I went in her stead. Anticipating that day – how I would feel, what would I be thinking, what would Rich and I say to each other. I really couldn’t have guessed what would have unfolded at that Giving Tree. It gave us something that we both needed in that moment – laughter, smiles, a few tears and then more laughter. Cassie never made it to The Giving Tree on Neptune Road, but she made it to the Maker of the trees, the Giver of Life. I am confident she was welcomed, with what we all long to hear, “Well done good and faithful servant.”

And the tree was happy. The End.