I walked along, thinking about you, about us. I had decided to go down a different path, one that was not so familiar to me, one I had only been on once before. I saved this path for special occasions, times of desperate need and indescribable joy. Times when I wanted to be alone with God to tell him my deepest feelings. Today was one of those kind of days.

The weather obliged my mood and provided rain to soften the path ahead of me, and there was a gentle breeze to send the forest scents to me. The trees waved gently, as the rain blurred their outlines, making them more an artists painting than real to me.

I walked alone, content within myself, needing or wanting no companionship but my thoughts. The leaves rustled slightly under my feet and I marveled that they had once been so green, and were now the forest floor's decoration. How quickly autumn had arrived this year! It was just yesterday I traveled this path in sorrow, and now my reason was quite different.

As I walked I saw that I was farther down this path than ever before, the realization exciting. I looked around me with new interest, my focus on my surroundings, rather than my feelings. The forest was beautifully fragrant from the rain, which had ceased just moments ago.

I neared a bend in the path and saw a small clearing. It contained a large gnarled tree trunk, and the remains of what had been a huge tree, fallen to make the opening in the forest canopy. The trunk was beautiful, and seemed to be trying to tell me something. Its roots were smooth, yet crooked... and I pondered the meaning of such a thing. It's roots seemed to be speaking of a struggle, a battle against the earth for a place to grow, a war between the earth and that which needed it to survive. The tree itself, by falling, had supplied many different plants with a chance to exist, some growing strait up from the tree trunk itself. The small forest animals were abundant here.. small birds chirping and crickets singing their happy little song.

I marveled at God's magnificence.. that He could take a thing so ordinary as a tree, and turn it into the one thing that provided life to so many.

As I stood there I realized that you were like that tree in some ways. Your life's struggles producing a rare beauty in you that drew me closer, your efforts at life and knowledge giving so many others help and comfort. It was a revelation to me. That one soul's struggles provides another soul's strength. I don't think I will ever wait so long to travel that winding path again. Every day achieved is a special occasion. And now I know a friend waits for me on the end of that path, and I cannot keep myself away.

by Monique Julien