A withering tree !

I found this tree in its whitened state and almost passed by it! The movements of the sparrow on its twigs caught my attention! 

A tree with no life left in it, is the resting place for these three birds. 

I remembered a family who were left perplexed with three successive tragedies in their family life coming with their only son, who developed anxiety disorder and dropped his grade in the class. At 11 years, it looked as though his performance in curricular and co-curricular activities had suffered a decline with little hope of recovery. 

At that juncture the father was transferred to another place by his bank! A shock far too much to bear! He had enough leave left to delay going to his work place. 

It was at this time while the family was trying to cope with the situation,  their neighbour had a car accident.  All the three members of the family were hospitalised. So this family became their immediate support. Their son got involved in meeting with his friend in the hospital who was younger to him. 

When the family returned after a month for a further conversation, I found that this boy did not have the manifest signs of anxiety. He talked about school and the class with greater ease and comfort. Although the final examination of the year was only a few weeks ago, he conveyed a level of comfort. 

Two months later, the family who came for another conversation told about the recovery signs in their situations including in the performance of their son in the examination. 

It was the father's words which gave me me an indication of how they found their recovery path. He said, 'we lived with the memory of our three tragedies and could not go beyond. But when our friends were hospitalised we found our selves to be of some help to them. While helping them, we found our recovery'!

We recover only as much as we can travel beyond our preoccupation!

Our wounds are our sources of our healing!

A dry tree is a resting place for the birds of air! It is from that tree the birds sing their birdsongs!

When we can receive our wounds and hurts without blaming ourselves or others, we shall find the truth of love that is hidden within us! We are loved and sought after!

During one of the events preceding to the trial and crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus turned to Peter, one of his disciples and said, 'Peter, I have prayed for you....'!

We live accompanied by a God of love. 

This is the hope generating message of the Holy Week!

We might feel like a dry tree sometimes! Just as the birds visited their birdsongs, we too would have surprising experiences to bring life back to us! 

We have a song within! Our difficult times bring the best songs from within!

M.C.Mathew ( text and photo)