Every morning when I open my curtains, I peer out my window and up the window well to look at the top of a tree so I can see what the weather is like. This morning I looked up, but didn’t see the tree top. I had been listening to the wind blowing and as I strained my neck, I could see the top of another tree blowing like crazy. I heard my parents chattering as they opened the blinds upstairs, so I went up to take a look. There was my morning tree leaning into another with half of it’s roots and a big chunk of earth coming up from the ground. As the wind gusts rose to near 100 mph, the tree bounced up and down, tearing the grass from around the rest of it’s base. We were waiting for it to come all the way down and land on the fence, but the other tree that it was leaning on kept that from happening. We were very grateful that it fell the opposite direction from the house. Several people including my dad called the HOA of the complex and they sent out a tree crew. When they arrived and assessed the situation, they realized that the tree had likely been planted incorrectly from the beginning as it didn’t have the large tap root that was necessary to anchor it in the ground. The tree couldn’t be saved. My parents and I and other neighbors watched as the crew got ready to cut it down. I had taken some pictures and videos and thought it necessary to also record the tree coming down, so I stood at the window with my phone aimed at the action. It didn’t take long for the guys to realize they were on camera. They all turned and waved before they got into position. They tied a rope to the top of the tree and then tied that to the base of another tree to hold it in place. Three of the guys held the rope while the fourth started the chain saw. My parents and I watched in anticipation. It only took about 2 minutes to cut through the trunk of the tree. At the last cut, the guys on the rope pulled hard and the tree top fell right between the trunk in the ground and the fence. We were very impressed. One of the guys made the sign of the cross and pointed up. My dad went out and congratulated the crew on a job well done. He came back in and reported that they were a family operation. The crew included the dad and his 3 sons. They gave my dad their business card so I could share some pictures and video with them. On the back of the business card was written Psalm 121. I looked up the scripture and it speaks of how God is our protector. I thought it was an incredibly appropriate and beautiful verse.

I Found God today in protection from a fallen tree and in a family business who shared their faith.