06/24/97                   Winds of Adversity
                                   by
                              Ronald Gordon

  Ron is in the woods with his chain-saw for several weeks at this 
time of spring every year, getting fire wood ahead for the coming 
winter. Two weeks ago a heavy wind came through our section of the 
forest and knocked down several trees, most with shallow root systems. 
I very much love the majestic appearance of tall, stately trees with 
long sheltering branches. Their upward reaching crowns praise the Lord 
all day long, as if only we could learn to raise our own arms to God 
during worship from their example. 

  Unfortunately, two very large cherry trees went down in this wind, 
pulling up their trunks right out of the ground, fully exposing a flat 
bottom with almost no roots. Each tree was not large enough to sell 
for lumber, so they will contribute to the warmth of our cabin. As I 
cut off the butt log, the trunks fell back down upon a small 
depression in the earth with a jolting thump. It then took a full 
evening to cut them into twenty inch sections for the wood stove. It 
was late in the evening without enough light to continue carrying each 
piece to the closest path, so I quit for another day. 

  After more than two weeks of completing other necessary jobs, I 
returned to those trees in order to finish carrying them to the 
nearest path for the garden tractor and log trailer. To my complete 
amazement, several fully separated sections had small shoots already 
growing skyward---with no roots! What desire! What tenacity! Knocked 
down by inescapable circumstances, and cut into sections, they were 
resolved to recapture their former glory---in spite of being severed 
from the trunk. 

  Many times in life we experience the hurt of disappointment, and on 
some occasions, bitterly troubling circumstances that overwhelm us. 
Fewer still are the moments when life presents tragedy which appears 
beyond our ability to endure. We are severed from our emotional base 
of security. Perhaps it is a failed love relationship or the death of 
an immediate family member. But worse than being emotionally severed, 
is the additional discovery that our spiritual life had not been 
rooted deeper in the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.

  Like the cherry trees, we fall under the pressing winds of adversity 
into pieces of grief. Our emotional stability is destroyed. We are 
changed forever and restoration seems elusive if not impossible. But 
God is never finished with us, for deep within, His still small voice 
calls us to trust Him when all our hopes and dreams have come crashing 
down. His spiritual nourishment is rich, and our praise life begins to 
sprout, despite our emotionally severed condition. We begin to grow 
again with upward reaching arms. Our life song has returned. Our hope 
is refreshed. Thanks to God's eternal promises, we can sing and offer 
heart-felt praise with tenacity anew.

Ronald Gordon
Bunkertown COB
PA Southern District