A while ago, I wrote about my tree of life, my blue spruce pine tree that I planted twelve years ago in front of my home. I have beautiful gardens around my property, each with a tree or two to accentuate the themed-garden. That blue spruce is now gone, as well as another blue spruce pine tree, an autumn blaze maple tree, and two crab apple trees, all of which were victims of the bad storm we had at the end of July.
As I was cleaning up from that storm and preparing for the fall growing season, I transplanted one of my weigela plants to the garden that had the most damage. I began to realize that God had transplanted me from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin in order to help me make a new start after losing my second husband from a massive heart attack. Today, I was making a new start with my garden that had completely changed due to a violent storm. The strength it took to shovel the weigela out of the ground was amazing, and yet, I felt like God was doing the lifting.
Life is change, and we all need to grow from the effects of those changes. As difficult as the last twelve years have been, I have risen from the ashes of death to become an eagle, just as my tree of life grew from a baby tree into a majestic fifteen-foot beauty.
Eagles love storms and the ability to rise above them. An eagle can lock its wings in a fixed position so that the wind can carry it above the storm. It doesn’t shy away from the storm or deny its existence. Girded on by courage, an eagle flies straight into that storm without fear.
I could have chosen to stay in Pennsylvania and taken the easy way out of my pain. Instead, I packed up all of my belongings, sold my house, and moved to Wisconsin for a new start. This move included fostering new relationships with my step-children and their families, meeting new people, creating a new home, meeting my third husband, and landscaping my new property, not an easy task even for the faint of heart.
I have weathered many storms in the past twelve years including health issues, a major car crash, the lose of Michael, and now cleaning up my gardens and making them new. Through all of these issues, I have not let fear stop me from walking on with courage. I have risen above them, fixed my arms in a forward-moving position, and decorated every event with God’s love.
God has never abandoned me, and I have become a better person for it. My heart is full of gratitude, and I look forward to the years ahead. I used to say, “I’m from Pennsylvania but I live in Wisconsin.” Now, I say, “I’m from Wisconsin and I used to live in Pennsylvania.” Like an eagle, I have found my place on the wings of eagles. “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings of eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40: 31)
Anna Hartt
