No Saws in Heaven

 "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot...a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance." Ecclesiastes 3: 1-4

    Our lovely flowering pear tree had to come down. David and I knew it was growing too close to the house and its roots were a potential hazard; we both hated to lose it. Though I knew in my head this was meant to be, when I saw its hewn branches bearing buds that would not blossom, I was saddened.

    Life ends before we're ready sometimes. Last year, my sixtieth birthday ushered in new evidence of my eventual demise. Though death does not frighten me thanks to the hope I have in Christ, I don't relish the aging process. I want the dance to continue on winged feet.

    If we know we're dying soon, do we live with fewer regrets? Do we try new things with abandon? Extend forgiveness without being asked? If I had my life to live over again, knowing what I know now, I would have walked so closely to Jesus that Satan could not wedge between us with his evil ideas.

    A girl I remember from my Sunday School comes to mind. She always had a peaceful expression and a quiver full of kindness at the ready. Through my immaturity, I saw her as hopelessly square. Now, I wish I'd have been more like her. Perhaps I'd have avoided many scars. 

    Where Eden is restored, there flows a river of life which waters the tree whose leaves are for the healing of the nations. This tree will never be felled; it waits there for me to dance beneath its shady boughs with winged feet.

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever." Revelation 22: 1-5