Do you have a favorite tree? As for me, I love any Christmas tree, but my other favorite one stood close to my grandparent’s carport. To me, it was a wonderful place to play and use my imagination as a child. In case your wondering, I didn’t ever climb it. The bottom branches were too high for me to grasp. Believe me, I jumped several times and couldn’t grasp a strong enough limb. The only trees that short enough for me to climb were apple trees at Papaw Janesway’s house. But he stopped me because he didn’t want me to hurt them.
Tim and I have trees surrounding our house. We didn’t plant them; rather they came with the property. Naturally I was excited. There were even a couple I was tempted to climb just for the fun of it. But Tim wanted to cut them down since he thinks trees so close to the house are a potential danger. I reluctantly agreed.
Round one of cutting, Tim used a pole saw. This is like a miniature version of chain saw that sits on the end of a long metal pole. He cut the lower limbs off in a couple of trees. Once he stopped, we were completely surrounded by fallen foliage. It was like standing in a sea of leaves. We piled the branches into the bed of his truck and took them to the back of the property. Oh my. It was like the pile of leaves and branches were never ending. After the second truck load, we were exhausted. It was actually kinda sobering. Years ago, we used to mow both our and my grandparents’ yard. This was acres and it took hours, but we did it. Obviously, we couldn’t do the yard work we used to do.
Then I did a bad thing. I began to think about it. I didn’t want Tim to have to do all of that work. After all, we’re not getting any younger. I wondered why I couldn’t do it myself as a surprise for him since he dreaded doing it so much. So, I waited a couple of days for the leaves and wood to dry out. This made them not as heavy. I went out at the break of dawn with my hair in a ponytail and I began dragging limbs to where we had taken the prior two loads. You know, it wasn’t that bad in the cool morning. As I walked, I listened to some bible teachers and preachers on my phone. Also, I prayed some. I actually enjoyed it.
This reminded me of mopping the floor. Back when I was younger, I would get on my hands and knees and give the floor a deep mopping twice a year. I don’t do that now. Honestly, I would need help to stand back up after all of that work. But I used to sing hymns as I mopped. Even though I was tired after I had finished, I felt such a joy and peace.
“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;” Colossians 3:23 (KJV)
Whether you’re doing a chore or something you really want to do, praise The Lord as you work. You’ll be amazed at what an uplifting experience that is. It will make a difference in your life. It did mine.
I didn’t tell Tim what I was doing. Each day he came home from work, I waited to see if he noticed the pile of branches growing smaller. He didn’t. Finally, one day I asked if he noticed anything in the yard. After a few seconds, he asked: “Where did all the branches go?” Then he looked at me. “You did that?!” I took a bow.
I took the picture for the article on my last day of dragging the branches. At one time, you couldn’t even see the grass.

Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. Her children’s book: “Dinosaur Eggs,” is now available. It is based on Ephesians 6: The Armor of God. Her novel “Until the Moon Rises: A Conniving Cousin Mystery” is also available. Also, she has two books out in her storytelling series: “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you.