Growing Hope

This evening, I went for a walk, and on this walk, I passed a small tree. This tree was planted in a spot where another small tree had been, but a fierce storm had taken down the first small tree, which was then replaced with the second small tree. This tree, even more so than other small trees, gives me hope for the future.

Planting any tree is an expression of hope in the future. Trees take a long time to grow, so it only makes sense to plant a tree if you expect it to be there for a long time. Yet, that's not what happened to the small tree that used to be in that spot. It was planted with hope for the future, but its future was cut short. Yet, another tree was planted there, expressing a renewed and continuing hope in the future. We acknowledge the tragedies of the past and the possibility that they may happen again, But we also continue to have hope that a tree will live long enough to grow strong enough to withstand the storms of life.

The world is filled with trees that grew strong enough to withstand storms. We just need to have enough faith and hope in the future to keep planting and replanting them.