When you get to a certain age what is the point of long term planning? For instance, I am no longer buying hard bound books unless they are volumes I think my children would want to keep, read and cherish. Paperbacks will live longer than I will at this point. Why keep records and write? And yet we do. We look to the future and make plans.
I was having this conversation with a man older than I am and asked him, “Why do old men plant trees?” The answer, of course, is for future generations. Many of us have gotten past trying for the most toys and want to make the world better for our children and grandchildren. And we want to make it better for your decedents too.
Alistair Begg (yes, again) was talking about how any day you can get your legs over the edge of the bed means that God is not through with you yet. No matter how old, used up, or dried up we are, if we are able to get up and move and believe in the sovereignty of God, it means He has something for us. I like that. It helps me ignore the aches and pains. It encourages me to laugh at my senior moments and cherish the time I have left.
So go out and plant a tree. You may not live to see the difference, but someone will.
homo unius libri
I plant only for myself (trees included) since none of my step descendants give a rat's backside for anything that I hold dear. I DO keep hoping (and praying) that they'll come to the Lord, but only time will tell.
ReplyDeleteNext time you are tempted, plant one for my kids. Since I don't have any grandchildren yet I can't put a good word in for them. Of course If I remember your part of the country there are all kinds of trees already.
DeleteMaybe God fills in for us when we slack off.
Grace and peace.
Every day when I drive through our town I see the trees my dad planted, 20 years ago) outside the block of flats where he and my mom lived. They are big trees now and the people who live there now park there cars in the shade of them.
ReplyDeleteIn the midst of all the sheep it is good to be reminded of how many people do the right thing on a daily basis. Our worlds would fall apart if it didn't work that way.
DeleteKeep the great pictures coming. Maybe that is a form of planting trees.
Grace and peace.