The town oak

Like a plant, when a person with deep roots in a community is suddenly yanked from it, it leaves a hole. When a person with no roots is gone, no one notices.

An acorn dropped to the ground on that dry, fall day among hundreds of others. Squirrels, rakes and drought took many of them. But not that one — it was special.  Time passed and it began to put down a small, shallow root.

Days turned to months and months turned to years. The young acorn became a small oak.  And as it grew, it put down roots. Those roots took water and nutrition from the soil. The soil of the community. Leaves and branches reached for the sky. But the oak was firmly anchored in the rich earth.

More time passed and the oak grew.  And the community came to love it.  As much as the oak took from the community, it gave back. Kids played in it. Lovers courted beneath its huge branches.  Families picnicked in its shade.  Over the years, it came to symbolize the strength of the community.  The town even used the oak on its logo.

One day disaster struck — a violent windstorm hit the town. While the oak’s mighty roots had held it in place through previous storms, this one was too much for the tree. CRASH. It toppled over, leaving a giant hole in the earth. The town came together, held hands in a circle around the tree and mourned.

People are like the oak. They put down roots in a community, grow strong and make a difference.  And when they are taken from us suddenly,  it hurts.  Badly.

I think of the Craig Noone’s of the world. A man who used his talent to make amazing food and then made a difference in the redevelopment of Downtown Jackson.  I think of Kent Hull, who used his gifts on the football field  and saw that kids needed help and raised money for Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital. Oaks in the community. Oaks who leave giant holes in the ground in their absence.

You can be the weed who barely scratches the surface of life. My prayer is for us all to be an oak.