The tree says...

My strength is trust.

I trust that God is in me. I trust that my labor is holy. Out of this trust I live.

-- Herman Hesse

Recently I happened upon this video.

I was enchanted by the repeating phrase, “A tree says…” I read it right before going on a walk and started wondering what the other things around us say. In Herman Hesse’s passage, many of the phrases are true of God, of us, and our relationship with God. In my reflections, it turned out that was true of other elements of nature, too. We see -- and hear and feel -- God in everything.

Here are some of my thoughts. How about yours? What do you imagine God’s creations are saying?

The cloud says: I am white, I am gray, I am a wisp, I am fluffy, I am heavy.

I blow in the wind and disappear,

I release the rain, snow, hail, and sleet to water the earth.

I quench your thirst.

The sky says: I am blue, I am gray, I am white, I am midnight, I am starry, I am hidden, I am brilliant.

I am above you, I am below you, I am around you.

I am the portal to outer space, to billions and billions, to infinity.

I protect you.

The grass says: I am green, I am brown, I am smooth, I am rough, I am pristine, I am weedy.

I spread far and rest your eyes.

I cushion you.

The stone says: I am hard, I am sharp, I am round, I am gray, I am white, I am big, I am small.

I skip on the water.

I support your steps.

The rose says: I am red, I am all colors, I am curvilinear, I am blowsy, I am petals, I am thorns.

I am the flower your nose wants to smell.

I bring you joy.

The wind says: I am soft, I am hard, I am mischievous, I am sad, I am gentle, I am rough.

I make the trees beautiful and I tear the trees down.

I breathe peace.

In the book of Isaiah, it says:

You will go out in joy

and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and hills

will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the field

will clap their hands.

In the poem:

The tree says:

A kernel is hidden in me, a spark, a thought, I am life from eternal life.

I was made to form and reveal the eternal in my smallest special detail.

My strength is trust.

I trust that God is in me. I trust that my labor is holy. Out of this trust I live.

-- Herman Hesse

The tree says “I trust that God is in me...Out of this trust I live.” Amen, may it be so for us all.