Wednesday, October 23, 2019

The Tree(house) of Life

Last night shortly after falling asleep my son sent the following text:https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1sBijS_WP_MYEVbcFovbx7WcXZMbRhsH-

I was shocked and did as he said. I went to Facebook. There were videos and articles all over the social media platform. By morning it had reached state and national news. The even was described as “the fire heard round the world.”

All day my mind was flooded with memories of our trips to the treehouse. The first time being shortly after Horace began building it. It was barely a forth of the final size. Even then it was an amazing site to behold. The mash up of lumber and trees was nothing like any treehouse I had ever seen, in fact it was larger than my home. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1Xm8Ma68UIOu_3G8y4Xr5tmVYvWuQxkWe

Over the years, the tree house was where we went for a fun day, to take out of town and even out of country family. No matter people had come from or what sights they had seen, everyone was always in awe. We were always in awe because each trip showed us a new feature, addition or an intricacy we had missed on previous visits. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1hYLMlKKMY2wb5FigRySHmWBjGABZ5vdxhttps://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1x5fTH0aiQlOWHcOLUhmcZpE_8PmwWjWYhttps://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=18AcJR4Hc6N5LWeQCxIQR2u2ceDfFat0_https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1WGlSQgrnGoKqqa20FSWGqPMXGwHAAIvJhttps://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1NYTiTnWi03-QFEgVs7wfuAMiOmM1wkkD

The treehouse was where I went to hear God’s voice as I discerned my call to ministry. And I later was blessed to preach at the handmade pulpit and take a church youth group there as the pastor. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1Gapaivw3W2oCzk6eP6o2sbdlSSvxBXx4

Years later I was blessed to gain special permission to “borrow” the pond next to the treehouse to baptize some great people and one special baptism I will never forget. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1gPDwVueFNWVfvJ07osNhiW2c7tVklFAzhttps://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1ySagTEINQPbUEprGNCOaB1_WV_VucvLO

I am sad the treehouse is gone. I have heard from many who are equally sad. I am sure there will be an investigation and maybe even an arrest. There will be clean up to do from the debris and currently there is a burned out hole where once stood a managary of constructed majesty. In my faith tradition, the remnants of the sacrament of holy communion is returned to the earth from where it came. It seems only appropriate that the remnants of the sacrament of baptism, in the pond, in the treehouse sanctuary, in the hearts of those that encountered Our Great Creator are also returned to the earth in ash. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1Aa9ssVwDQm368zO1mzX7ZJr8dc3hQZzx


No comments:

Post a Comment

REVIVE US AGAIN!

Photo from: JuicyEcumenism.com As a former student of Asbury Theological Seminary, I have been asked to weigh-in on the event taking place a...