July 20 – “A grasp for the past”

I just read one of those articles in the paper today that is not really news.  I don’t mean it was fake news.  I just mean it was someone’s opinion rather than a report on something that happened.  And yes, I really do read the daily newspaper.  Kind of a grasp for the past, I confess.  I could read it online.  But there is nothing quite like the mystifying struggle involved in holding open a swatch of really thin paper that is as big as a tabletop.  Or trying to turn the page without it getting that crinkled spot in the middle that causes the back side to be all folded over so you can’t read it.  Oh, and then there’s the newsprint – the traces of ink – that gets all over your fingers when you try to smooth a page out.  Nasty. 

But on the other hand, there’s nothing quite like the anticipation of seeing the headline for the first time.  And the excitement of reliving the Astros game from the night before with the reporter who is delivering his summary.  I used to enjoy the comics.  They changed those just recently.  Something about upgrading to comics that appeal more to millennials, to a younger generation.  That would be the generation who is garnering its information online and could never in a million years be bothered to open a physical paper.  I read that something like 80% of the newspaper’s readers/subscribers are over 55 years of age.  Gotta grab that 20% at the cost of the rest of us, I guess. 

Boy, that was quite the rant.  Not exactly where I intended to go this morning.  I was going to talk about trees.  That was the topic in that opinion piece I read.  All about how trees are a metaphor for life and all.  Guess I’ll just leave you with his final thought.  Trees have been important to God’s plan for a long time.  At the beginning … the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  And at the end … the Tree of Calvary where Jesus defeated Satan.  And one thing he didn’t mention … aside from all the scientific stuff about using carbon dioxide and creating oxygen and all that … with a little advance preparation, they make good reading material in the morning with a cup of coffee.   

Psalms 85:8-9 says, “I will listen to what God the Lord will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints — but let them not return to folly.  Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.”

Father, thank you for the trees and all they become.  Amen.