The Tree

As I stared at the giant white oak, I could picture the monster falling onto the corner of the church building.

Pastor Jim, my friend at Three Rivers Biker Church, had asked me to cut down and remove a large tree next to the church building.

“No problem, I’ll take care of it.” I did not realize that it was no ordinary tree. This thing hovered over the entire end of the building with a trunk three and a half feet in diameter and branches the size of my thighs.

Growing up in the national forest my family always burned wood to heat the home and I had cut down my share of big trees in the past, but this one scared me because of its proximity to the church.

For me to accidently fell a large oak onto the corner of this stately old building would be a disaster. For many years the old building had been lovingly cared for by a small congregation of elderly saints. To smash that special place with one of its guardian oaks would be an insult beyond words.

After much study and with considerable doubt, I began to cut the tree. The first thing to do to fell a tree is to determine the projected angle of descent based on the direction the tree is leaning.

Next, I cut a V-shaped notch at the base of the tree in the direction I want it to fall. If notched properly, I can direct the tree to fall in a direction opposed to its natural lean. If the notch is not cut properly, the tree could fall onto the church.

Just as I was about to make the final cut, out of the corner of my eye I see a young man approaching. With my attention directed on the tree and the noise of the saw, I had failed to notice his old pickup truck slip into the parking lot behind me.

He was a shabbily dress guy with a scruffy beard and an unkept curly head of hair. He approached with a big smile and a confident look. “Do you need any help?” he asked. “Have you ever cut any large trees,” I replied. “Yes, I worked for Graves Tree service for several years. Do you have a sharp saw?”

I nodded as he took the say. After walking around the tree, a couple of times, intensely studying my work, he skillfully reshaped the V-notch I had cut. When that was complete, he took one more glance up the height of the tree, checked the building, sighted his line of fall and confidently said, “It will be alright.”

As if the saw was a part of his hands, the stranger skillfully sliced through the giant oak, placing it perfectly right next to the little church building.

While I stood in amazement, thankful that it had missed the building, the young man jumped into his old truck and was gone, flying down the country road before I could get his name or even say thank you.

What had just happened? Did God just send me a helper to keep me from damaging this beautiful little church? I had been praying intently for God’s help on this tree. Maybe this guy just happened to be driving down this lonely country road at just the right moment?

In the past I had never considered guardian angles, but this “Tree Angle” may have changed my mind. God works in mysterious ways and He uses people to protect us, to build our faith and to increase our dependency on him.