Solitary trees, grow strong

On Monday, I was yearning to see some fall color to brighten my mood and at some point I had the thought, "Oh, how I wish I could see a picture of the tree that grows in our old church parking lot back home! Maybe I could get someone to send me one..." 

Well a few days later, a friend, totally out of the blue, sent me a picture of the very tree in its orange Fall glory! How did she know? 

I believe that God knows our hearts and can communicate to us and others, through the Holy Spirit, what we need. 

As we listen to that small voice inside each of us, we can meet the needs of others as God would want us to. 

I am so grateful to my friend for listening to and acting on a prompting that touched my heart this week. 

Another thing that happened this week is that our neighborhood developer is putting in these large and lovely street trees.

How I miss the trees that used to surround and protect and beautify my home in Lewisburg!  So seeing trees going in by my new home makes me happy.

I was looking up quotes about trees today, and I read this one:  "Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong," --Winston Churchill.

Sometimes, I feel like a "solitary tree" and the quote definitely made me think of this bright, bold, beautiful tree which grows in the middle of my old chapel's parking lot.  Encased in what appears to be an uninviting bed of blacktop, it still grows strong and vibrant--a beacon for us to enjoy each Fall.

The tree and this quote remind me of what it is to be a Latter-day Saint living in Central Pennsylvania--or anywhere in the world where one feels like "the only one".  If "one" grows at all in that location, he or she certainly grows strong.  That has been my experience, and I am again grateful for it.

Happy Fall, everyone!