By Jennifer Stultz
Tri-County Tribune Editor
jstultz@cherryroad.com

I have always been fascinated by trees. They stoically reach towards heaven, growing, changing with the seasons, withstanding storms, housing birds and animals, and when they die, their composition breaks down to enhance the soil and provide nutrients for new life. Trees are powerful symbols used throughout the Bible to represent life, growth, strength, submission, even suffering. And in the end, trees exemplify the whole ashes to ashes, dust to dust theory as they are broken down literally and figuratively, until they become particles of soil-enriching substance that supports new growth that starts the whole circle of life over again.

I was recently looking for a picture of a tree to use with at Tri-County Tribune story, so I typed trees into my search browser for my computer photos file. Evidently, I have been taking picture of trees for some time as more than 40 great photos of trees in all seasons from in and around Pratt and the three area counties popped up. I had trees in spring flower from Haviland, trees on Main Street in Greensburg, loads of great tree pictures from all seasons in Pratt’s Lemon Park and then a couple interesting snow tree pictures. One of my favorites was a bunch of trees east of the Rolla Rena Skating Rink on the north side of Pratt that were covered with snow and looked like giant mushrooms. There were pictures of trees on my own yard from all different seasons and the comparisons were fascinating.

Trees are important in our lives, but there are times that trees can be scary. I remember as a child, when the tree branches scratched on my bedroom window at night when the wind blew a certain way. I was afraid of those trees, the screeching sounds they made, and the shadows they cast upon my walls when the moon was bright. Then I remember being somewhat frightened by trees in the Lord of the Rings movie series. Big trees uprooted themselves and walked around like people. They were a great army with wicked arms and sneering faces. But that wasn’t real.

Even knowing that, there is a surprising verse in the Bible about trees walking around. A blind man is cured by Jesus, who put saliva on his eyes and laid His healing hands on him.

“And the man looked up and said, ‘I can see people but they look like walking trees.’” Mark 8:24.

Evidently, trees have been fascinating people for a very long time! We all know that real trees don’t just pick up roots and move around; in fact, I would hope that we could agree that most real trees are creations of beauty. Luckily for the blind man in Mark 8, Jesus laid his hands on his eyes and then he could see clearly. That is what Jesus does for all of us, he can heal us, help us see clearly so we can discern between what is real and what is not.

I recently took a picture of a beautiful tree at sunrise at Pratt County Veteran’s Memorial Lake. The beauty of God’s creation, as exemplified by some of the giant cottonwood trees there, reminds us that we must remain in Christ in order to develop strong roots and grow in faith, no matter the circumstances that surround us.

“It (the tree) was majestic in beauty, with its spreading boughs, for its roots went down to abundant waters.” Ezekiel 31:7-9.

Trees have been around since the beginning of time, since the creation of the earth. Whether they are scary or beautiful, they can teach us much about strength and wisdom. Has there been a significant tree in your life? What does it teach you about God? If trees could talk, I am sure they would tell fascinating stories, and they would praise God in recognizing His greatness. Trees can remind us to do the same.

• If you are interested, check out the Photo Gallery section on the Tri-County Tribune news website. I will post some of my favorite tree pictures from the past two years, taken in an around the Tri-County Tribune coverage area. One of your favorites just might be there.