The Tree Of Life

By Emil Baldwin, Jr. 

Rob Johnson looked out into the faces of his new congregation. They had just finished singing a hymn and were in the process of returning their hymnals to the backs of the pews and sitting down. He waited until everyone was settled and ready to continue. It was a small crowd but that was understandable. Only the most loyal member would have come out on a snowy Christmas Eve like this but as he moved from face to face, he could see the devotion in their eyes. He sighed and hoped that he could say something that would touch their hearts. He stood up deliberately and slowly walked to the pulpit. "I want to thank each of you for coming out tonight. I know that everyone has a lot to do before tomorrow, and we're supposed to get more snow tonight...so I'll try to keep this short...which, as you know, is hard for a minister to do" he said with a smile. He heard quiet laughter and he paused again for effect. "I know that I've only been here for a few days but I have found in that short period of time that there is a strong spirit within this church. I know that when you leave here tonight, that you will take that spirit with you. There is so many little chores to do on this Christmas Eve...food to cook, trips to plan, gifts to buy and presents to wrap...hopefully a big one for your new minister!" Louder laughter this time. "Sometimes, with all those little tasks to do, we overlook the real reason for the holiday...not intentionally but it does happen. So my challenge to you tonight is to remember what it's all about...remember the lamb of God and the message He brings to us. Don't hesitate to share it with the grocer, the clerk in the store, and the little guy on the corner asking for help. That's part of why we are here...being connected to one another...joined as one family, the family of man." He paused to allow his words to be understood. "Let's all bow our heads and close." "Heavenly father, we ask that you would watch over each one here tonight and keep them safe on their journey home. Watch over them, and those who can't be with us tonight, and help us all to remember the reason why we celebrate the season and how we touch each other's lives. We ask that you would bless everyone also with the desire to pray quietly and to listen closely to the promptings of that small still voice inside. Let it lead them and guide them and show us all the path to follow. Let us always be mindful of its presence and counsel." "Tomorrow, Lord, as we celebrate the birth of our Savior, we ask that each of us will experience the joy of His birth and gain a deeper knowledge of our role here on earth and your plan for us. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ...Amen." As he looked up, he noticed that some echoed the "amen" and some didn't but all-in-all they looked pleased. He stepped down from the pulpit and joined the others to shake their hands, wish them a Merry Christmas, and get to know each one a little bit better. It was a nice gathering and he genuinely liked the ones he met. As the last few were leaving, he saw one of his deacons, Bill Jones, approaching, "Good sermon, preacher!" he said as he flashed a wide smile. Although Rob was fresh out of seminary, he knew that this was one of those phrases that members said when they didn't know what to say. "Bill, I thought I told you to call me Rob." "Yeah-h-h...I know, but it just seems strange. Reverend Jackson was here a long time and he always called everybody, Mr. or Mrs. so-and-so...it'll take a while I guess." Rob understood his dilemma and said playfully, "Well, work on it...we're gonna be spendin' a lot of time together...and that preacher stuff makes me feel ten years older." He gave Bill's shoulder a squeeze and he watched his new friend drop his head a little and continue to smile. "I thought I would try to go out and see Mrs. Allison this evening, do you know anything about her?" Rob asked. "Kelli?" Bill's smile broadened as he continued. "Oh, yeah...everyone knows her. Every year at this time, John and Kelli would have a big get-together at their house for church members and anyone else in the community that wanted to come. Christmas at Kelli's was a big institution around here. They were really good people. Then John died unexpectedly last year, just three weeks before Christmas. It really tore Kelli up...and then her sugar got bad...now, she hardly ever leaves the house anymore, particularly when the weather's bad like this." He shook his head sadly, "It's really a shame...like I said...good people." "Well, I talked to her this afternoon on the phone...I thought she sounded good...almost perky." Bill laughed out loud at that one. "Yeah, that's Kelli all right...you can take the girl out of the cheerleading but you can't take the cheerleading out of the girl!" He laughed again. "Well, I'd better get goin'. The missus wanted me to pick up a few things before ole Saint Nick gets here. You got directions to Kelli's?" The preacher nodded, "Yes". "OK, well, I guess I'll see you on Sunday...is your wife gonna make it in before that?" Rob suddenly remembered that Dana and their son, Matt would be driving in late tomorrow evening and he was reminded of all the little details that needed to be done before that. His energy suddenly shot up as if to help him charge ahead and get busy. He waved good-bye to Bill and said, "Absolutely!" The drive down Interstate 64 toward Lewisburg was uneventful and just took about a half-hour. West Virginia's highway system in the wintertime could cause anyone to pray a lot but Rob focused on other things and tried to ignore any thoughts of slick roads. Fortunately, the roads had been cleared and Rob was able to put the car on "autopilot" while he focused on his meeting and what he would say. He turned off the four-lane highway and headed toward Green Sulphur Springs. He easily found the Allison home and walked up onto the well-lit porch. As he waited for his knock to be answered, he thought to himself, "I can see why people would want to gather here...nice house but warm-looking too." The door opened and a fifty-ish woman with a smile welcomed him. She had a pleasant, gentle, face with warm eyes that almost twinkled but when he saw her, he knew there was something more. It was almost as if someone had sucker punched him in the stomach. Who was this woman? She looked so familiar. Her smiled dimmed a bit and she theatrically asked, "Reverend Johnson?" as if something was wrong. "Are you OK?" Rob tried to quickly pull himself together and said with great intelligence, "Oh...yeah...yeah, I'm fine. You just look so familiar." She smiled again and said soothingly, "Everybody tells me that...once upon a time, somebody told me that if I was younger I would look like Demi Moore...how's that for a backhanded compliment?" "Maybe that's it." Rob thought as he looked at her. He saw the resemblance although Kelli was a good twenty years older than the actress. "Yeah," he said. "I believe that could be it...actually, it's quite a strong resemblance." She blushed slightly at the compliment as she invited him into the house. "Well, I hope you like the old-fashioned cocoa...I've been heating it up on the stove. Why don't you go into the den and look at the tree...I'm quite proud of my Christmas decorations this year." She disappeared into the kitchen and he turned and went into the large room on the right. For the second time tonight, he felt his breath quickly leave him. It looked like something out of a Charles Dickens Christmas story...it was gorgeous! Old-fashioned, hand-crafted ornaments, ribbons, candles, evergreen sprigs, soft Christmas music playing in the background...amazing. This was truly a labor of love. She silently came into the room and stood beside him. Both paused quietly and just drank in the atmosphere of the room. "So, what do you think?" she said, fishing for a compliment, without the effort being needed. Rob sputtered a bit and said, "Mrs. Allison, this is incredible...you have put an immense amount of work and heart into this room." She paused and a little bit of sadness came over her. "Thanks, Mr. Johnson. My husband and I always enjoyed Christmas and all the festivities. I lost him about this time last year and I just couldn't face being alone. But this year...I don't know...something just said...Girl, get up and go do it...I don't know...it was just something inside...you know? Pretty crazy, huh?" Rob thought back to what he had told his congregation earlier this evening and wondered. As he thought about what he was going to say, his eyes looked past Kelli at a glimmer of light that seemed to come from the window. He continued to look at it and she followed his stare. "Oh, you see my dream catcher," she said. "Dream catcher?", he said dully, staring at it like it was some unknown, powerful talisman. "Well, I guess it's not exactly a dream catcher because it's not Indian but Celtic...it's called the Tree of Life." Rob walked over and parted the curtains for a closer look. Kelli continued on, "It's funny...I've had that little hunk of glass for years and years. John and I were living together in New York at the time and we found it while shopping down in the Village. We were college students way back in the sixties and we were sort of "hippy-ish" I guess. Anyway, it meant a lot to me and the words that went with it really made sense. Then, a short time later things between John and I turned really bad. All of that love we had for each other suddenly got ugly. We fought, cursed each other, got into drugs...a really bad scene. So, we split up...I came back here to the hills and John went off to Nam. I was pretty miserable at first but then someone else came into my life and I learned to love again. All that time I hung onto my dream catcher and read the words almost daily. It really helped but...you know how it goes...life turned sour again and I had to get away from my new love. It was hard but I had to do it or that's what I thought was best at the time. Well, to make a long story short, after his tour of duty, John came looking for me. We both had grown up a lot, and the rest, as they say...is history. A long happy marriage, a wonderful life together...almost perfect to the end." Rob had attentively listened to her story which was quite provocative, but something gnawed away at him. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but he found that he was drawn once again to the dream catcher that she had called, "The Tree of Life". He looked back at her and said, "I was curious...you said that there was some words that went with this?" She almost lit up when she said, "Yes, they are quite beautiful and moving." She closed her eyes in meditation, almost as if praying, and started repeating part of the poem. As she continued on, Rob got that old feeling of deja vu again. "A fish glides like a shadow just beneath the surface. You cup your hands and drink....it is like drinking light itself, and a feeling of deep, quiet well-being spreads through you as the water washes away the wounds of the past and purifies your whole heart and mind. In forgotten dry ditches, seeds begin to grow, and luxuriant growth greens the bare earth. The roots of the Tree penetrate the soil of your soul. Strong stems and branches..."

"...twine around crumbling old walls, and burst through the confines of the mind with green leaf and blossom," ***Rob completed. That small voice inside had completed the words of the poem for him and the power that generated the voice opened Rob and Kelli's eyes at the same time. She tried to smile but as she looked into his eyes, the curtain of time was brushed aside in an instant. Both had the same stunned look on their face as the revelation unfolded. Kelli's eyes clouded over and tears streamed down her cheeks. She gasped, "It's you...how can this be possible...I only repeated those words to only one other person...you...oh, my God...how is this possible?" She lovingly touched Rob's face. "You were so little...how could you remember?" She threw her arms around him and both held each other and sobbed. Her son was home. Kelli's "new love" had been a baby born out of her and John's passion. Neither Kelli nor Rob knew of their relationship before this meeting. Neither one would have guessed the miracle that would be wrought here on this Christmas Eve. A child born many years ago, given up for adoption comes home. Both souls led by forces beyond their comprehension. Both led by a small, still voice as old as time itself. As the clock on the mantlepiece heralded in a new Christmas morning, The Tree of Life seem to glow with a life of its own. Rob and Kelli continued to hold on to one another. There was so much to say but the words would have to wait until later. Now was just a time to cling together and to renew the bonds of so many years ago. As they swayed together, the scent of evergreen filled the air, their two souls touched and the music played on.

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