A Vision of What Might Be…

     After moving into our Michigan home, we discovered several problems with the backyard. Two huge silver maples dominated the relatively small area. Over the years they had sent out roots in every direction, making the ground uneven and nearly impossible to landscape.

     Al decided to have both trees cut down, their roots ground up and the backyard leveled. After those major projects were completed, the entire yard, including a patch of scraggly grass, was covered with bark. These improvements made it easier for us to walk around without falling, less muddy for the dogs and also gave us some room to add new plants and trees.

     One morning Al drove to a large nursery some distance away, looking for three trees—two for the backyard and one for the front. When he returned, there were only some potted plants in the back of the car. “Where are the trees?” I asked.

     “Oh, they’re going to be delivered. Too big to put in our car.”

     Hmmm...“How big are they?”I wanted to know.

     “Well, too big for the car. They’ll be delivered on Friday afternoon.”

     “So how big are they?” I had pictured small trees, maybe four feet tall at the most.

     Then he told me that he had purchased two large evergreens and a Liquid Amber tree. Oh, also, that we would need to have three holes dug for the trees before they were delivered, each 40”x40”x24”! The only problem was that the nursery wouldn’t provide for help in digging the holes.

     “How are we going to do it?” I asked, not excited about the prospect of digging through tree roots and adobe clay. The delivery date was just two days away.

     “Well, I’ll dig them,” he said.

   It wasn’t long before he was out in the front yard chipping away at the lawn to clear a space for the Liquidambur  (Sweet Gum) tree. Our two youngest grandsons, who happened to be staying with us for a few days, also joined in the effort after school. They especially liked going after stubborn tree roots with pick and shovel. Al kept encouraging their efforts by telling them that they might reach China or even see some kangaroos if they dug deep enough!

     The boys had school on Thursday and I was busy in the morning too. The hole in the front yard hadn’t even been finished. I felt guilty about leaving Al to do the digging alone and prayed that God would send an angel to help.

     What a surprise to see someone else in the hole with him when I returned home a few hours later! The angel? Someone had been walking along on the sidewalk, stopped and offered to help. Al gladly accepted his offer.

     Together, they finished the first hole quickly, but the kind volunteer had to leave; so Al proceeded diligently on his own in the backyard. Later that afternoon, the boys joined in again and I tried to help too, wondering how in the world we were going to finish by the designated time on the following day.

     That was when our next door neighbor Andrew jumped over the fence and took up a shovel. “I love digging,” he said. Another angel! He even took off time from work the next morning.

     Thankfully they finished the job just before the truck arrived with a forklift in tow. A forklift? We wouldn’t have been able to budge those trees ourselves. The root balls alone weighed several hundred pounds apiece.

     To finish off the project, the next day Al filled in the dirt around the roots, watered and put mulch around their bases. All three trees looked as if they had been growing on our property for years.

I am still amazed at the vision that Al had for the landscaping of our yard. He saw something greater than what I had imagined and was diligent in carrying out the plan, sort of like the vision that God has for each one of us.

     Good work, Al! And thanks, Lord, for providing so many angels to help!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, “plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 NIV