As my huge hoard of followers know (insert a bit of exaggeration), I love my walks in the woods. I’ve written about my alone time, my love of nature, and the many ways God speaks to me during my time outside.
As I hiked the leaf covered, chilly trails this week, I decided to slow down a bit and pay a little more attention to the many trees that have been labeled by those who keep the trails in good condition. I’ve always been one to ignore these tiny little signs hammered in to the tree’s bark, though I most definitely should slow down and educate myself…as I’m not certain I could tell the difference in an oak and a maple. I just know I love trees. All trees. Trees make me happy. I’m weird enough to stop and say “oh, that poor thing” when I see a tree with a large growth on its trunk. I’m adventurous enough to always want to stop and sit on the trees with the large bent branches that make for the perfect seat. I always notice the trees that look like they’d be easy to climb…and often do climb them, no matter who’s watching.
When I see a tree with a label hammered in to its bark, I often wonder if it harms the tree to be hammered in to like that. It makes me think of us as humans….does it hurt us when we have a label put on us? I guess it would depend on the label. I suppose some labels–otherwise known as descriptions–would be flattering, such as beautiful, creative, thoughtful, or funny. Some could potentially crush our spirits, such as cowardly, ignorant, or the one I think I’d personally fear the most—BORING. (how horrible that would be!)
As a teacher, I see labels all the time. Various initials given to children because they can’t focus for longer than ten minutes, or because they don’t read as well as other children their age. Perhaps they act out in school because their life at home is horrible beyond comprehension. They receive a file, which is labeled. And that label follows them for many years to come.
Once we become adults, we quickly earn various labels that stick with us for years, if not a lifetime. These labels can help us through life, or they can haunt us with a crippling negativity. Unfortunately, far too many of us receive a label that changes our lives far beyond anything we could have ever prepared for.
Labels can be unexpected. Labels can be unwanted. I never wanted to receive the label of widow. But what I do with my life can overshadow any of the unwanted labels that have crept in. There are other labels that I love….that I’m proud of. Though I might be horribly mistaken, I think (I hope) there are a few rather positive labels that my dearest friends would use to describe me.
And the label I’m most proud of…. Mother.
The trees I pass as I hike through the woods have such tough, wrinkled bark. They have lived long lives, growing tougher and stronger each year…much like us. They’ve been labeled with their specific botanical name, but that is all. The beautiful red maple near the trail head is labeled as simply that. Red Maple…..with it’s Latin genus translation of Acer Rubrum. That is all. There is no room on the label to share how this particular Red Maple is where I’ve sat and cried on rough days. There is no room on the label to share how I’ve leaned against this tree and prayed. There is no room on the label to share how I was sitting at the base of the tree last fall when the Mamma deer and her two fawn walked past me, so close I could almost touch them. There is no room on the label to share how just this week, an elderly couple stood under its long branches, holding hands and talking as I passed by.
As humans, we can have a bit more space on our plaque than the trees. What would yours say? I suppose the bold text on top would simply label us as what we are: Human Being, perhaps followed by our taxonomic label of Homo Sapiens. For the trees, it stops there. For us, our labels could continue on.
Human Being
Homo Sapiens
__________________
__________________
__________________
How would you fill your blanks? Fighter? Survivor? Advocate? Leader? Encourager?
Let’s never, ever let them be filled with things like quitter, hater, defeated, or the before-mentioned word that I truly fear: boring. Let’s just all agree right now that we will NOT let these words label us, describe us, or be any part of us. Agreed? Agreed.
Yeah, yeah….I know….labels are for containers and clothing. Not for people. But the trees get me thinking. They deserve larger labels….and maybe we’d strive to be better humans if we considered what our labels might be. If we were to have to wear them on little metal plaques around our necks, would we try harder? Who knows….
Let me just end with this….
Your tombstone will probably have a label. A description of you. You see it all the time. Loving Wife, Beloved Son, Devoted Husband, and so on. Let’s live our lives so great that our families decide on much better inscriptions for our graves. Tell the kids to go ahead and plan on an extra large stone, because there’s going to be a lot of great things to list.
YES. This one.
Kickin' & Screamin' 