The Tree

Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.                                                                                John 12:24

 The Law of Conservation of Energy states that mass can neither be created nor destroyed, although it may be rearranged in space, or the entities associated with it may be changed in form.

For my long-time readers, this tree may look familiar. Every year, around this time, I take a picture of this tree which has been planted over the remains of two very special creatures. My long-time pet dog, Maggie, and my son’s dog Griffey. If my daughter’s dog, Einstein, had been in Ohio when he passed, I would have buried him here too, but Einstein’s remains are with my daughter and son-in-law in Kansas. Actually though, there is no way they would have parted with the remains of their beloved Einstein.

You see, we loved our dogs, and we honor them, even when they are gone. In fact, Maggie who died in 2005, and Griffey, who passed in 2024, are a part of this tree. Their remains have become part of the molecules that nourish this lovely living monument to them.  God’s plan of renewal, death giving life, is an amazing part of nature’s way. Ever since I read the poem, Thanatopsis, I have been intrigued by this beautiful fact of life.

We just celebrated Easter, the day that Jesus rose again form the dead to give life. So too does death in nature give life to succeeding generations. Not one atom has ever disappeared from this earth. Rather, it is transferred into another form, another life. There is no destruction of matter- there is only a transformation into another form.

So, we are encouraged by this. I can look out on the Maggie/Griffey tree (indeed, I am while I write this blog!), and know that life is not ended, just transformed.

Prayer: Lord, we are grateful for your plan of life springing from death. We are encouraged that you are the author of life, Amen