I wonder about my spiritual beliefs and wonder if my deeds are good within the eyes of the lord; do I practice my religion to its fullest or do I practice it when it is convenient. I think about the things that I have done wrong, as I look closely at the lowest branch, and each twig bring about some of the things I know the lord has forgiven, but still leaves a mark on me.

As I look through all the branches the sunlight in my eyes, I get a warm fuzzy feeling thinking about my youth, my friends of yest-er-years, and those who are my friends now. I count my many blessing to have so many people who have crossed my path, for a day, a week, a year or more. They too have left their mark and helped me become the person I am today. It reminds of a song I learned in the Scouts so many years ago, “make new friends, but keep the old, one silver but the others gold”; and I realize how lucky I am to have friends from my youth since lingering in my life. Those I speak to everyday, and the few I chat will occasionally, they too have brought a tremendous amount of joy to my life, but one of my best friends has to be my spouse.

I see our life together, all the way to the top, twenty years or so have gone by and still we continue on, sometimes just a branch away, and as I look to the very top, I realize that on occasion we are just that far apart. It is what life brings to each of us, the challenges of life and the chores of everyday life, but together we shall climb, if not to another branch; perhaps to another tree.

Our lives are just like trees branching out to the north, to the south, to the east and the west, and yet the tiny stem has grown into a thick hard tree trunk, that we all come to rely upon for nourishment and for love.