 This bank of trees in their autumn glory is a beautiful sight. Some of them very ancient specimens. Some are imported and have adpated well to the Australian climate and soil. The image was taken in the Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens. Botanic gardens are the museums of the plant world. TURNING INSULTS INTO BEAUTY The early settlers saw trees as the enemy, to be chopped down indiscriminately and the land cleared for farming. In the early days trees took up valuable land needed for food and livelihood. Today we know trees are the lungs of the earth. We need to preserve them to preserve the land and air.  The landowner saw an opportunity to save work by using the tree as a post. The tree in this picture has accepted the bolt for the chain to lock the gate. Maybe it hurt when the bolts were first hammered in – maybe the tree bled some sap. Perhaps it cried out at the invasion or pain? But the tree didn’t give up and die because of its mistreatment instead, it got on with the job of growing over its wound; making the bolt and chain part of it. The tree couldn’t change what had happened to it. So it forgave the torturers. The tree proceeded to encompass the offending bolts making them part of itself. it was not going to allow what had happened to it to affect its life, its growth, its beauty. How forgiving is that?  The tree has incorporated the gate fitting into itself. It has covered over an ugly invasion with beauty. It will not allow itself to be invaded by an ugly piece of steel. What a pity we humans are not like the tree, absorbing the hurts and then encompassing them and covering them with our own beauty of spirit so that the hurts are made beautiful. That’s forgiveness!
We could also look at it as if the tree was the Lord and we were the bolts and chain. We were hammered into the flesh of Jesus when he was nailed to the cross. His body accepted our wounds, our hurts, our sicknesses, our independent spirit, and drew us into himself and made us one with himself. Jesus died as us. We became a person of beauty because he covered us over hiding us within himself. What mega love and forgiveness is that!
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