Tap Root

A couple months ago, we were walking down our lane and noticed a couple small trees growing in the fence line, One was a Maple, and one was an Ash. We don't really have trees in our yard, so I suggested we dig them up, and plant them in our yard. Sounded like a great idea, right? Here are these pretty little trees, growing strong where they were planted. They looked beautiful and they were about 3 feet tall. We went and got a shovel, and started digging. Knowing we'd need to dig out around the tree a bit, we dug a wide hole for the roots. He thought he had dug deep enough and started to dig around the bottom to finish the root ball when we hear a snap!
It was then that we realized there was ONE deep thick root that we didn't realize this tree had, and we had snapped it in half. I felt terrible! Now we've just killed this perfectly healthy baby tree because we wanted it in our yard! How selfish, how silly. We decided to finish digging the rest of the tree up, and replant it, in hopes it might, MAYBE, survive.
He quickly dug another hole in our yard, we replanted the baby tree with the tap root cut in half, watered it, and hoped for the best. But, within days, the leaves died up, fell off, and this little beautiful baby tree looked so dead. I felt terrible! It's amazing how selfish actions hurt others, innocent bystanders, that had nothing to do with my choices. This poor tree was dead, because of me. It didn't do anything, it was living and growing strong, but I had to have it, and I ended up killing it.
Or so I thought.
It was leaf-less and stiff. It looked so dead for such a long time. I had recently planted a couple other trees I had purchased from a nursery and was told that the reason trees die within the first 3 years of transplant is because of lack of water. So weekly I drag out gallon jugs I've saved, filled them with water, and go and water all these baby trees. I decided to add these into my weekly chore.
Funny how a bit of watering, hope, and nurturing can help heal the dead! Who knew this little tree had to died, lose all its beauty, in order to bloom and grow where it was transplanted!
Soon, our little tree started to grow tiny leaves. Tiny blooms started to bud and I was so thrilled!! We hadn't killed it like we thought!! We just stunned it, we broke it, we hurt it, for a time! But soon, after it mourned the loss of all we had done to it, it then endured! It grew! It dug roots, replanted itself, and started to bloom!
To me, this little tree is an inspiration! It's amazing what can happen to us. It's amazing the damage we can do to each other. Selfishness, wanting what we want when we want it, needing something now because we deserve it.  But, if we lean into the one who created us, we can grow, bloom, and be beautiful again. It gives me hope!