Last Summer was a time of many losses for me. In the midst of all that was going on, a big windstorm broke a large bough on one of the “century plus” oak trees on our property. This broken bough stayed stuck in the tree. High up. Out of reach. A large problem waiting to arrive in the future. So I worried, of course.
Last week, another gusty windstorm delivered a literal windfall. The dead bough dropped to our driveway, fortunately with no damage. But it was large enough to block the driveway and difficult to move. But I could push it out of the way to deal with later.
Monday a neighbor helped me cut it down into short pieces. It was a good time for us to talk. We usually just pass by on our errands rather than talk for a while. Shared labor gave us a time to interact.
The dead branch appeared so large before. 25 feet long. 6 inches in diameter. But after a short time of sawing, what was left wasn’t all that large.
This morning as I looked out at the small pile of logs, I realized that God was reminding me that large, seemingly intractable, future problems can be resolved one piece at a time. As a business management consultant, I have reminded clients: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” But for my problems, I want the immediate, quick solution.
As I move to retirement, I worry about the large, intractable problem of resources. (Or, “What do I eat? What do I wear?” from Sunday’s Gospel reading.) This week, there have been some small windfalls into our bank account. God is clearly reminding me that together we can address large, intractable problems through a series of small steps and windfalls.
Usually, I prefer the calm sunshine to blustery weather. But now, I look forward to the next windfall.
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