I Love Trees

Suzanne Beck describes the evidence of God's creative power in the beautiful trees she sees every day.

I’m not a poet, but in school I loved any assignment where we had to memorize poems. I’ve always loved trees, so one of my favorites was in 6th grade when the assignment was to memorize the poem “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer (1913):

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

I was intrigued to learn that Joyce Kilmer was an adult convert to Catholicism. He converted in 1913, the same year as writing “Trees,” and was considered to be the leading American Catholic lecturer and poet of his time!

Recently I have been noticing trees on my morning walk. There is a particularly huge and stunning eucalyptus that to me is an absolute thing of beauty. It is perfectly pruned and very, very tall with large gray-green leaves that seem to crown it in glory. The gray-white peeling bark only adds to its regal look. I often just stop and marvel at how lovely it is, lifting its "leafy arms to pray." It does seem to be giving God the praise He deserves, and just looking at it lifts my mind and spirit to God as well. I look forward to seeing it on my walk, and have tried to take pictures of it, but the photo never does it justice. It’s simply magnificent.

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There are several Italian cypress. They are the tall evergreen columns that seem to point straight to heaven. Rarely do any of the branches fall out of line of that columnar shape, as they too seem focused on bringing glory to God. (I love these so much I found a miniature variety that I can grow in my small back yard.)

As the seasons change, so does the beauty of some of the trees. My spring walk is rewarded with light pink flowering cherry trees, darker pink redbuds, and white flowering pears; while my fall walks are filled with all the colors of the changing leaves in shades of reds, oranges, yellows, and browns. All of this beauty reminds me how much I love trees, but also lifts my thoughts and spirits to their Creator and my relationship with Him, since "only God can make a tree."

I’ve also noticed, too, that some trees that are in distress. Homeowners cut back on watering grass, perhaps to conserve water, but not realizing that they are also depriving the tree. Many cities cut back on water or maintenance as they run into budget difficulties, and trees along the highway or in parking lots are many times be ignored and show signs of stress. These trees make me see how important it is to stay connected to a nourishment source, which of course in life, is my relationship with God. I too can become "distressed" when I don’t stay connected to my Creator God.

I studied biology and horticulture in my undergraduate work, and had several classes or projects that in some way had to do with trees. I learned that, in addition to beauty, God has given trees many important tasks in the world. By removing carbon dioxide, trees provide oxygen into the air. They clean the air by absorbing pollutants and can cool the air, cooling cities by as much as 10 degrees and releasing water vapor. Trees help prevent water pollution by acting like a sponge that filters rainwater naturally and uses it to recharge groundwater supplies (as Mr. Kilmer states, “who intimately lives with rain"). Trees help prevent erosion, can provide food and are homes for wildlife (for example, “A nest of robins in her hair”). Mr. Kilmer, in those few short lines, seemed to say almost everything that’s important about trees.

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On your next walk or even as you drive on your errands today, take a look at God’s creativity in the trees that surround you. #CatholicMom

On your next walk or even as you drive on your errands today, take a look at God’s creativity in the trees that surround you. Stop a minute and think about how much God loves us to give us these gifts that contributes so much to our everyday life, and we don’t even think about them or acknowledge them on most days. Oh, I do “think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree ... [because] only God can make a tree!”

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