3 If clouds are full of water,
they pour rain on the earth.
Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,
in the place where it falls, there it will lie.
4 Whoever watches the wind will not plant;
whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.
Ecclesiastes 11:3-4
Some verses in the Bible just grab at my mind and make me laugh. This is one of them. I can envision a giant redwood toppling and of course it will lie where it has fallen. That seems obvious. So what is the Teacher trying to tell me? The Message translates vs 4, “Don’t sit there watching the wind. Do your own work. Don’t stare at the clouds. Get on with your life.” Chapter 10 verse10 of Ecclesiastes adds to this image of a falling tree, “If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success.”
Most of us are not lumberjacks nor are we rich enough to have trees on our property that need to be cut. But I have lived in tornado areas and during one such event, I gasped as my son ran out the front door as I was herding everyone downstairs. At that moment the neighbor’s tree fell and missed him by a hair. Another time we left our youngest to go to the college graduation of another. A tornado went through the neighborhood wiping out 1,000 trees in six minutes. The whole horizon changed. And then, of course, I love the Ents, the talking trees, in Lord of the Rings.
Those tornados changed my world with the removal of the trees’ silent vigil in my neighborhood. Life just did not look normal for a long time. Roots ripped apart sidewalks and shade was no longer available. Perhaps the Teacher is trying to tell us that there are those things that seem permanent in our lives, that decorate and protect us and we often take them for granted-like the trees. But when they fall, there they lie, and life is not the same afterwards. Perhaps there are some “trees” in your life that you need to thank God for today.
The removal of trees clears property for planting crops. Sometimes we need to remove the things in our lives that indeed serve a purpose but there comes a time when we need to “repurpose” and redefine the space those trees claim. On the down side is the thought of making a decision to stop bad habits like alcohol that have helped us make it through the day. But we need to be uproot those bad habits and face a new future we want to build. I have a friend going through detox now and it is hard to uproot that tree of alcohol that has such deep roots in the person’s life. This same uprooting takes place during transition times. I remember leaving dear friends in the house we shared as I moved into marriage. Those were good days as a single that needed to change when I married.
When the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, the work is hard. When we allow our tools for survival to become rusty and unsharpened, we struggle. Proverbs 27:17 reminds us, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Friends that care enough to say the truth in love are axes to be valued.
So today let’s thank God for those things in our lives that are like redwoods, silently blessing our lives. But Lord help us be honest about those trees that need to be cleared from our lives for the new blessing you have for us. And thank you Lord for those who care enough to speak the truth so we keep our axes sharp. Thank you, Lord.
On the Way to Wonder 