Trees speak! We may not understand their words, but sometimes our ears are opened to sense some of their whispering. This Autumn Gold Ginkgo tree was lamenting the loss of its leaves. Just a few weeks ago this tree was bursting with echoes of splendor and majesty as its outstretched limbs were covered with vibrant yellow leaves. As the wind gently blew, a thrill of awe and wonder pulsed through the core of the tree. Warm waves of sunlight coursed though the photosynthetic veins of each leaf and brought an indescribable sense of pleasure and tenderness. The kiss of The Creator, like the rhythmic beating of a human heart, flowed through every molecule of the tree.

Light to Darkness – Pleasure to Pain – Fullness to Emptiness

Now the memory of those once beautiful leaves faded into a dark vortex that threatened to swallow up even the slightest recollection of their existence. The Autumn Gold Ginkgo wept as each leaf detached from it’s branch and joined a massive pile at the base of the tree. The pile of once golden leaves now resembled a slowly decaying, brown mass of death. What would happen to the inspiration and expiration of carbon dioxide and oxygen without the necessary leaves? It would be like you and I trying to function without our lungs.

The Ginkgo felt as if its identity had slowly and agonizingly been stripped away as each leaf fell to the ground. This once secure tree now stood naked and alone as the temperatures began to slowly drop. The rotting leaves at its base released an acrid smell of death, which threatened to overwhelm the heart of the tree. This hand of doom reaching out from beneath the ground foretold the impending loss of life in the long wintery days ahead.

The tree felt trapped; no longer able to reach out towards the sun and drink in the glorious elixir of life that once flowed through all its branches. But then there was the faintest whisper. But where had it come from? Why, it had come from somewhere deep below the pile of decomposing leaves. It was a song, with a melody so sad and yet faintly hopeful, that stirred within a deeper place which existed beyond the visible realm.

What we suffer is nothing
Compared to the unseen life ahead
Groaning in death and decay
We will one day be set free 

The eyes of faith perceive
This Divine Mystery of promise
The Redeemer has defeated Death
All Creation will one day weep no more.

The Autumn Gold Ginkgo tree realized that its roots still were intact and a part of an even deeper unseen network of microscopic connections which reverberated The Song throughout the ground beneath its empty branches. Would there ever be a time where Winter would cease to exist and warm sunlight and refreshing rains always keep the trees in perfect health?

We too can listen to the whispering of The Song deep down inside our hearts. We can embrace the reality that, even in the midst of the death of a loved one, a relationship, or a dream, our groans and pains will one day be swallowed up in the victory song of The Redeemer.

But now, when we are faced with the reality of crushed dreams and longings laying lifeless beneath our feet, we search for the whispering of The Song. Yet often, in the depths of our grief and pain we only hear silence. So, we wait in patience and in impatience. ‘I believe, help my unbelief’.

We can, from our perspective, stand at the base of the Autumn Gold Ginkgo and know that Spring will arrive after the long, cold, dark months of Winter. But, when stranded in the midst of our own grief and loss, we too need a point of view from outside the realm of our own minds and perceptions.

“O God my rock,” I cry, “Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies?”
Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
    I will praise him again - my Savior and my God!
(from Psalm 22)