One old tree is a lesson in endurance
On the front cover of some greeting cards that I recently purchased at a retreat house are two pictures of a very old tree that stands on the premises. It has lost most of its limbs and its trunk is almost completely hollow. Located on the edge of the lake, it has endured the force of the wind through many storms. One picture was taken in the winter, when the branches were bare, and another in the summer when, amazingly, the branches were covered with bright green leaves.
A few years ago a new director at the retreat house had suggested that the old tree be cut down. The response he received was, “Do you want a thousand retreatants to be angry at you?”
My religious community just held its annual Jubilee celebration. I gave those cards to some of the Jubilarians. They speak beautifully about the life of a Sister. Surely A Sister can experience the harshness and bitterness of the winter accompanied by feelings of frustration and failure. I can remember returning home from teaching a high school religions class one night and declaring, “I don’t believe I ever taught anybody anything!” A Sister likewise knows the joy of the summer season, with all of its fruitfulness. It’s like the morning I found a note from one of my students on my desk, thanking me for the course I had taught, and concluding with the words, “You rock!”
Like the tree that has withstood the test of time, allowing itself to be swayed and battered by the wind blowing across the lake, our Sister Jubilarians have persevered in responding to their vocation, conscious of the winds of change swirling around them over the years, but standing tall and moving faithfully with the wind they identify as the Holy Spirit.