By Su Yang
My family live on the fifth floor, and my room is directly opposite to a playground behind the school buildings. There is a basketball standing in its west side, and two flowerbeds of a variety of flowers and plants placing in its eastern and northern sides, with variously colored flowers in full bloom. And the sweet fragrance of their blossoms greets me through the window, which makes me relaxed and delighted. Besides, there are also varieties of trees around the playground, such as fruit trees, metasequoias, phoenix trees, poplar trees, willow trees, camphor trees, banyan trees, and so on. Some of them are as tall as a five-story building, and some are as tall as a three-story building. Different kinds of trees grow differently. Only the banyan tree in front of my eyes made me think a lot: However it grows, it can’t seem to grow taller than a three-story building, for its trunk is not straight and it stretches out its branches around. It has lush foliage, which is a good place for birds to shelter from the wind and rain, and a home for cicadas to have a rest. Moreover, it provides a pleasant shade for people.
On a summer morning, birds were singing of the coming of a new day in the trees, as if they were hurrying me to get up. At noon, cicadas began to sing, as if to say to me: It is too hot in the room. Please go out for an airing. When I stood on the balcony, the cool breeze blew away all my troubles. Then, I watched the banyan tree with its green livery. The leaves danced and swayed in the wind, at times like elephants’ ears swinging slowly, up and down, and sometimes like fish’s gills breathing the fresh air given by God, opening and shutting rhythmically. A cluster of adults and children were sheltering from the sun under the tree…. What a harmonious picture it was!
I went downstairs and came to the banyan tree, I heard several adults praising: “Thanks to this big tree, we have a place to take a rest and chat.” Then, I couldn’t but think of a story which I read before—“A Seed, the Earth, a Tree, the Sunlight, the Songbirds, and Man.” It says: “A small seed fell to the earth. After a great rain blew by, the seed grew a tender sprout and its roots delved slowly into the soil below. The sprout grew tall in time, braving winds cruel and rain deep, seeing the changing of the seasons as the moon waxed and waned. In the summer, the earth brought forth gifts of water so that the sprout could endure the scorching heat. And because of the earth, the sprout did not feel the heat and thus it survived the heat of summer. When winter fell, the earth enveloped the sprout in its warm embrace and they clutched one another tightly. And because of the warmth of the earth, the sprout survived the bitter cold, passing unharmed through the wintry gales and snowfall of the season. Sheltered by the earth, the sprout grew brave and was happy. It grew tall and proud from the selfless nurturing the earth provided. The sprout grew happily. It sang as the rain splashed down and it danced and swayed as the wind blew. And thus, the sprout and the earth depend on one another …
“Years passed, and the sprout was now a towering tree. It had grown stout branches tipped with countless leaves and stood strong upon the earth. The tree’s roots dug into the earth as they had before, but they now plunged deep into the soil below. What had once protected the sprout was now the foundation for the mighty tree.
“A ray of sunlight shone down on the tree and the trunk shook. The tree reached out its branches wide and drew deeply from the light. The earth below breathed in rhythm with the tree, and the earth felt renewed, and just then, a fresh breeze blew among the branches, and the tree trembled in delight, bursting with energy. And thus, the tree and the sunlight depend on one another …
“People sat in the cool shade of the tree and they basked in the brisk, fragrant air. The air cleansed their hearts and lungs, and it cleansed the blood within. The people no longer felt weary or burdened. And thus, the people and the tree depend on one another …
“A flock of songbirds chirped as they alighted on the branches of the tree. Perhaps they were evading some foe, or they were breeding and raising their young, or maybe they were just taking a short rest. And thus, the birds and the tree depend on one another …
“The roots of the tree, twisted and tangled, dug deep into the earth. Its trunk sheltered the earth from the wind and rain and it stretched out its great branches and protected the earth below it, and the tree did this because the earth is its mother. They live together, depend on one another, and they shall never dwell apart …
…………
“Even though this is a simple picture, we can see God’s wisdom and His intentions. Mankind cannot live without the earth, or without trees, or without the songbirds and sunlight, right? Even though it was a story, it is a microcosm of God’s creation of the universe and His bestowal of the living environment upon man” (“God Himself, the Unique VII”).
From these words, I understood that this harmonious picture came from God’s creation. God is the source of life for all things. Under God’s sovereignty, all things are interconnected and interdependent. And each thing created by God has a life and the instinct to survive. And there is value and significance in all of their existence. The earth, the tree, the sunlight, the songbirds, and the people depend on one another for existence: Nurtured by the earth, the tree does not lack water, and because of the sunlight, it has wide spreading branches and luxuriant foliage, so that it creates more fresh air from the sunlight. Because of the tree, the earth is soothed from the heat of the sunlight; moreover, people get a good place to shelter from the sun, and birds also have their homes…. Day after day, year after year, as ordained by the Creator, we human and all things regularly exist under the laws and respective path of life.
Every morning at 6:30, there are people practicing Taijiquan and jogging on the playground. After 5 p.m., people come here to enjoy the cool one after another. Some people are playing basketball, and some chatting; some children are riding tricycles, and some skating for fun. The mixture of the laughter and music conveys their happiness and joy.
The sunlight, the air, the tree, and the earth, all of them are the living environment that the Creator has prepared for us. God created each thing in order to give us a stable and peaceful home and let us live carefree lives. Although we have become accustomed to all of them, God is providing, protecting, and caring for us silently all the time, so that we can live carefree lives on the earth and enjoy His grace. We should be thankful for the selfless provision of the Creator, and preserve our home together. After reading this passage of God’s word “God Himself, the Unique VII God Is the Source of Life for All Things (II)” I have understood more of God’s sovereignty and creation and seen the deeds of the Creator are truly wonderful and amazing. Have you seen it?
Source: WALK IN THE LIGHT
