Weathering the Storms of Life

We woke up to more rumbling thunder this morning and the sound of raindrops.  A good day to stay in bed, but after a cup of coffee, we were out the door to quickly do the milking duties before church.  After coming home from lunch, I checked the rain gauge and found that we got another 2 1/2 inches of precipitation.  I was able to fill every available container I have with rainwater and estimate I have about 500 gallons saved up for the next week.

Smoky Mountain rains they keep on fallin'...

A stroll around the water-logged yard showed that we incurred some significant damage to a pecan tree in the front yard.  The weight of the wet leaves coupled with the weight of the pecans proved to be too much for a large branch to bear.

There's a lullaby about a rocking a baby in the treetops - Why would anyone do this?  Very strange lullaby indeed.  It says that when the wind blows the cradle will rock.  When the bough breaks the cradle will fall...  Well this bough broke and fortunately there was no baby up there.  It broke about 20 feet up in the tree.  That's a long way down.

Here is some perspective on the size of the limb.  That's my foot.  Pecan trees are notorious for losing limbs, but this one was a biggie.

Here is a lengthwise view.  If you look closely, you can see that when this limb came down, it knocked down branches out of a neighboring tree.

Close-up of some pecans that will never reach maturity.  That's okay, we still have plenty.



We really like trees.  They are majestic and beautiful.  The shade they provide on hot summer days is invaluable.  The habitat they provide for birds and squirrels is nice.  The branches that provide platforms for climbing and strength for hanging swings yield enjoyment for children and adult alike.  Trees undergo photosynthesis and as a by-product emit oxygen.  Everyone I've ever met needs oxygen.

About 11 years ago, we had a hurricane that spawned some tornados and strong sustained winds that damaged a large live oak tree in our yard.  This tree is huge and I'm not exaggerating when I say that this tree is easily over 100 years old, maybe more.  We put the tape measure around her circumference and as you can see she's 16 feet two inches around.  That's even wider than me after Sunday dinner.

Here is Tricia standing by the old oak with her hand near the scar that I'll tell you about in a minute.

Well, during the strong winds 11 years ago, this tree split wide open on both sides.  You could put your hand in the crack and feel it gently open and close on your hand as the wind blew through the canopy above.  In the picture above, you can see the scar by Tricia's hand that runs vertically down for about 4 feet.  The picture below shows the scar on the other side of the tree.

As you can imagine, we didn't want to lose the tree.  With the help of my neighbor, I gathered some cable, turnbuckles, eye-bolts, threaded rod, homemade washers from steel plate, and nuts and went to work.  We used a drill bit that was a foot and a half long and climbed way up into the top of the tree.  In four large limbs, we drilled holes through the diameter of the limb and  inserted the threaded rod.  On the backside of the limb we put the homemade washer and the nut.  In the picture below, you can see the steel plate, the nut, and the piece of threaded rod if you look closely right above the "Y" that the branches are making.

On the other side, we threaded an eye bolt.  You can see it in the photo below.  We repeated that process four times in the four large limbs on opposite sides of the tree.  Then we ran the cable through each eye bolt and fastened them down with cable clamps.

We added a turnbuckle to each length of cable and began twisting the turnbuckle tighter and tighter with a big cresent wrench.  You can see the turnbuckle and cable in the picture below.  We repeated tightening alternately on the turnbuckles on each cable length until we had pulled the tree back together.  The crack was closed!  Analogous to what a doctor does with sutures, we pulled the 'cut' closed so that the wound could form a scar and begin to heal.  The tree was supported by the cables and was able to mend itself with a little help from the "shade-tree" arborists.  (Pun intended.)

After 11 years, the scar has completedly overgrown and the tree lives on.  You can witness below the results.  I read where live oaks have a maximum life of 500 years.  That's a long life.

You know, we all go through storms in life.  Like the pecan tree, the heavy burdens we carry sometimes causes things break off and crash to the ground.  Like the live oak, sometimes the swirling winds we encounter cause us to crack open and we find ourselves needing outside intervention to pull things back together.  If you live for any length of time, you'll get dinged up and have scars to show the rough experiences, heavy loads and 'high winds' we all encounter. 

I've learned to trust and rely on One who is a Strong Anchor that holds when the fierce winds blow.  I've learned to lean on family and friends in those storms.  I've learned that scars, while they might not be pretty, are a witness of the ability to overcome tough times (with help) and can be a source of strength and encouragement to others who are going through their own storms.

Hang tough in the storm!