New Growth

I thought I had killed it.  Rabbits had eaten every bit of it besides the parts that were too woody to chew.  I had ordered a pink magnolia tree online and it had been delivered to my house.  This little sapling was to replace a hydrangea “tree” that the previous owners had planted in the front yard of my house that failed to thrive.  The magnolia sapling was no more than a foot tall.  I bought a sapling rather than a mature tree because I wanted to see it grow from something small into something large.  I had never lived anywhere long enough for the trees to grow large, and I wanted the magnolia to be the first.  But the rabbits had eaten it down to two sticks when the weather got cold in the fall.

All winter, I was convinced that the rabbits had killed my baby magnolia tree.  I was looking online for a bigger starting tree.   Maybe I could plant a tree that was a few feet tall so that the rabbits can’t eat the leaves.  I was ready to buy another magnolia tree, but I hesitated.  I am not sure why, but I waited.

Come spring, the little magnolia pushed out tender new leaves and new branches. Realizing that this little sapling was going to fight to survive, I quickly dug up the tree and put it in a planter pot in the back yard so that the rabbits couldn’t get to it.  All summer, I doted on the baby magnolia tree making sure that I was watered and always in a sunny spot.  When the weather started to have a chill in the air, I brought it back to the front yard and planted in the soil once again.  The rabbits quickly ate the lower leaves, but this time there were still leaves that were too high for them to reach.

Last Monday, I squealed as I left my driveway:  as I was looking over my shoulder to check for oncoming traffic, I saw a burst of pink in my front lawn.  I threw my car into park, jumped out, and ran to my magnolia sapling.  For the first time in the three years that I have had it, my sapling bloomed.  The sapling is no more than a couple of feet tall, but it put out brilliant, full-sized pink flowers.  I swore that I had killed it, but with patience and care, my little magnolia tree was blooming.

It is easy to sometimes jump to conclusions and catastrophize.  Sometimes, bumps in the road feel like the end of the road.  Sometimes, the panic that arises because of an issue is what causes a bigger issue in the end.  I panicked when the rabbits ate almost all of my magnolia sapling.  I was convinced that I had ruined it - but the tree grew despite my panic. It still needed special care: to grow well, the sapling did need to have time away from the rabbits – but it was more resilient than I had expected.  Given patience, the sapling has even bloomed.

I have been thinking about my magnolia sapling this past week in light of Easter.  Easter is when we celebrate that death will not have the last word.  It is when we proclaim that life and love are stronger than the forces of hate and destruction.  And there my magnolia tree grows defiant of the storms and rabbits that we separate it from its beautiful blooms.

Looking at the magnolia sapling this morning as I pulled out my bicycle for the first time this year, I have been thinking about how long it takes for our work to bloom.  This Sunday in worship, we will baptize the baby daughter and granddaughter of former members, but I have also noticed some familiar faces on Sunday who are joining us at this time and place in their journeys.  

We don’t always know when things will bloom… but yesterday my cherry tree opened its brilliant blossoms once again. And I ask myself, “what does blooming look like for us this year?”

Blessings,
Pastor Chris