The Walnut Tree: An Example of God's Bounty

"Under the spreading walnut tree..." Oh, wait, that is a chestnut tree, and underneath is supposed to be the village smithy from a bygone era. Well, not entirely bygone, except for the smithy, since we do have a spreading tree (walnut type) that hovers over our back deck.

Right now our grand walnut tree is dropping its harvest of walnuts all over our deck and back yard so rapidly that Donnie and I can barely keep up. We have given bags of walnuts away to friends. We have a huge bowl of them, all shelled, for visitors, and in the utility room, waiting to be shelled (or is that husked -- what do you call it with walnuts?), a full pail of them. A feast awaits us, it seems, yet every day more bounty drops onto us from above.

Not to worry, the squirrels know all about the walnuts. One, in particular, has made our home his home, and he shows up every day to gather in as much as he can carry off at one time for winter storage. (Even though California does not really see winter, the squirrels follow their storage programming even here.)

Then there are the California jays. They showed up a few days after the squirrels, who do continue to come, of course. While there are nuts, there are likely to be squirrels. The jays snap the twig holding the nuts still on the branches and carry each individual nut high up above the nearby sidewalk, then drop it on the sidewalk below. The nut cracks open, and the jay swoops down, gathering the meat.

The crows found out about the harvest a little late, but they do the same now -- and sometimes there is a jay-crow contest that we get to watch. Hey, it's a lot better than watching boxing on television and about the same ferocity. Fortunately, there are enough walnuts to go around, so both jays and crows win once they move from envy and fighting to gathering their gold.

Even the little hummingbirds benefit from the grace of the walnut tree. We hung a feeder on one of the branches now that the summer flowers are disappearing, leaving only a handful of winter flowers. The hummingbirds are happy to line up to dip their beaks into the sweet nectar offered by the walnut tree.

So many benefits from one tree: people, squirrels, and birds of all types. It reminds me of the passage in the Bible that says God provides for us just like He provides for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field -- and I would add the squirrels, too. ("Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink...Look at the birds of the air for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?...Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of them." Matthew 6:25-27) In my back yard, God provides for me and my extended family (that includes all the animals and fowl, of course) with one single tree.

As I look at the walnut tree, I think of the $1.3M bill Shane got for the first set of medical operations for Nikolina. I do not worry. God provides. I think of some aspects of my job, which Lizzie describes as flying on rickety planes to dangerous parts of the world with no money in my pocket. I do not worry. God provides. I had no money for a ball gown, but God provided an ethnic dress that brought admiration and affection. I perhaps overpledged for a good cause. I am not worried. I know God will provide for God always has. I just look at the walnut tree and see immediately how wonderfully God provides for every living creature, including my family and me.