The Teaching Tree
by Fleta R. Robinson
Just for fun I designated the tree as female. She made me smile. Her unique appearance looked a little prissy, so I named her "Flouncy." Alternate branches reached straight out — left, right, left, right — then tipped up at the ends. Each trip into town I saw her in a row of trees that was probably a property line. The sight of her amused me.
When coming home, I seldom noticed her. She was a typical tree, appearing like the others in the fence row.
I was seeing her from a different viewpoint, an added perspective.
"Flouncy" not only amused me, she made me think.
* Do I ever judge a person or a situation from only one comment, one action?
* Do I draw conclusions with only limited knowledge?
* How often have I put a person in a "box" because of what I see or hear from only one viewpoint, rather than learning about the whole person or situation?
* Do I make a judgment call with only a fragment of information?
"At present we are looking at puzzling reflections in a mirror. The time will come when we shall see reality whole and face to face! At present I know only a little fraction of the truth, but the time will come when I shall know it as fully as God now knows me!" (I Corinthians 13:12 Phillips)
Isn’t it good of the dear Lord to gently teach us through whatever is at hand?
Isn’t it good of the dear Lord to gently teach us through whatever is at hand?
A grain of wheat . . . (John 12)
A well of water . . . (John 4)
A lost sheep . . . (Luke 15)
A mustard seed . . . (Luke 17)
A lost coin . . . (Luke 15)
And (from my perspective) a unique tree!