They say God has a plan for us.  I believe that to be true, though I would be hard pressed to figure it out right now…what His plan is for me…

Did you know we lost our home about 17 months ago?  On August 7 it will be 17  months…we lost our home, two pets and nearly everything we owned.  We had a place to live while the debris was cleared, additional foundation poured, and new house built.  We moved in on October 9th, 2014.

What you may not know is that prior to the fire, for nearly 23 years, as I approached our driveway from the south (from up the hill), I would look for our house.  In the early years, before things grew up around us, I could see the house all the way down….in the daytime there it stood.  Waiting.  In the evenings/nights, I could see the lights and they signaled the safety…no… sanctuary, that was home.  23 years.

In the beginning (why not?), we had the house built over the summer of 1992, and moved in when we returned from our honeymoon in  late September.  We had plans for the landscaping….which included a tree in the middle of the driveway.  I took pictures….but I am not certain if I have them anymore…the fire.  We planted a Maple tree.  It was our plan for the tree to grow, and provide shade.  And beautiful colors in the fall.  The first tree was too weak and almost before we got it home, it died .  The nursery replaced it with a bigger tree.  One the boys and I would play under….one that we would use as the backdrop for school pictures.  Anytime we knew company was coming, the boys would climb up and hide in the leaves, in order to greet (in surprise) our guests.

We watched the snow piles build around it, as snow accumulated on its symmetrical frame…we watched all spring for the red buds to appear, and then the bright green as the leaves unfolded…and those colors in the fall.  That tree was magnificent.

Shortly after the fire, and while it was still painful to look for our first home as I traveled down the hill, the tree became my anchor.  The tree that stood silent watch over us for nearly 23 years….the tree that grew as we grew….some of us heavier, some of us taller, and all of us older.  The Tree.

Yesterday, it appears as though a circular cloud, with significant wind, rain, and hail, set its sights on our driveway, that tree, and the birch trees near the back door.  That tree.   Gone.  And it hurts.  It was more than just a tree…