Dear Reader:

As I searched around the yard for the flower that should symbolize Easter this year…my white petunias (who popped out in vivid abundance in both hanging baskets by the fence yesterday morning)…won the coveted award.

Recently I have started touching a branch on the Bradford Pear as a sort of good luck ritual each time I arrive back home. Then a couple of days ago…I came across an old story that I remember putting in the blog years ago…called “The Trouble Tree.” It was a place where one could touch the tree and leave their troubles behind.

In the two photos below I took a picture ( with my left hand of my right hand touching a branch)….you will notice the three braceletsI always wear on my right hand (1) the “Tree of Life” bracelet Brooke gave me, the pink ribbon from a bicycle spoke a friend of Honey’s gave me, and the copper bracelet Kaitlyn and Tommy gave me with the directions engraved to St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope. They combine to form my “rabbit’s foot” of good luck.

You can tell how convenient it is for me to touch the tree when I pull in the driveway. From now on, however, the tree will  become my “Trouble Tree“… where I can leave my troubles behind.

In a sense wasn’t it Jesus’ “Trouble Tree” that saved a “wretch like us“….taking our troubles away….a tree to lay our burdens down.

“The Trouble Tree”

The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse had just finished a rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and now his ancient pickup truck refused to start. While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence.

On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. When opening the door he underwent an amazing transformation.

His tanned face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss. Afterward he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.

“Oh, that’s my trouble tree,” he replied.” I know I can’t help having troubles on the job, but one thing’s for sure, troubles don’t belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up again.” He paused.

“Funny thing is,” he smiled, “when I come out in the morning to pick ’em up, there ain’t nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before.” 

…………………………..

One of the most asked questions around Easter each year is inquiries into the type of wood used to make the crucifixion crosses. ( The legend of the dogwood likes to proclaim the dogwood as the wood used in the cross) but historians disagree on any particular wood used.

I found this bit of information, however, quite interesting on the three types of crosses. Click on the link below for the drawings of the three types of crosses.

What kind of cross was Jesus crucified on?

While typing in this information I had some sort of epiphany…that Easter now symbolizes the day Jesus Christ was crucified and died for us…so that we can “Lay down our burdens” from whence-forth.

 And how is this accomplished? Prayer.

So until tomorrow…Take time today, the holiest of days, to send a “thank you” note to Jesus… thanking Him for the opportunity to be saved by grace, His grace, and forgiven for our sins…our burdens.

The way to lay down our burdens is to tell ourselves at this exact moment…all is well…don’t dwell on an uncertain future or be sad about a past that is gone…just concentrate on the moment, breathing in and out…we are alive….we are well….thank you Jesus for this blessing…especially today.

So whether we lay down our burdens to a trouble tree or down by the riverside…help us feel our burdens lifted in this troubled world. REJOICE CHRIST HAS RISEN!

And remember: (“Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful”)

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Down by the Riverside – Mormon Tabernacle Choir – YouTube

Sneak Peeps at this morning’s surprises: Bunnies and lollipops! Many kind deeds!

Happy Easter to everyone….Take time to enjoy today knowing that Christ lives and so do we through Him. (Laying down the burdens of “perfectionism” and learning to accept ourselves as we are…a child of God.)