Once damaged, this tree now thrives.
Sometimes when people have an injury, it’s easy to feel like they’ll never recover. That’s especially true if the injury makes it hard for them to walk or use their hands.
But there is hope. Our bodies have an amazing ability to heal. And people in the medical profession make it easier for our bodies to recover.
I was reminded of that earlier this week when I was limping along a sidewalk after a knee injury. I had just been to see my chiropractor, who was helping me to heal. Near the sidewalk stood a Siberian elm tree, tall and beautiful as it stood on the bank of the Animas River that flows through Durango, Colorado.
As tall and beautiful as it was, there was evidence that it had once suffered a severe injury. A long time ago, four trunks had been combined into one tree. Three of those trunks grew tall and stately. One had been broken off about three feet above the ground. Years before, something very damaging had happened to that part of the tree.
Even so, the tree now thrived. The remaining three trunks carried the damaged trunk in a supportive way. In spite of the injury, the elm looked beautiful and strong.
As I walked past the tree, I stopped to take its picture. It reminded me that, with time, most injuries heal quite well. I walked away from the tree feeling a little more hopeful. Before long, I too would heal and walk without a limp.