Fallen Tree

       It was a bitter, cold wintery night and the wind howled, audibly inside our home. Though mostly cozy, actually we felt gusts of wind somehow permeate the windows and walls.
       In early morning, I left for work, walking to the subway station, down the long street. On my regular route, I was surprised to see that the road was blocked off. I strained my eyes to peer into the distance in the dusty light of dawn. As I walked down the road, the problem was apparent—a huge tree had blown over by the wind and was resting squarely on a power line. The power line and poles did not succumb to the weight, and remained precariously in place, at least for the time being. The huge weight of the tree rested upon the lines.
       Like other pedestrians, I walked on the other side of the street, to avoid a possible imminent collapse of the power lines and tree. When I came home in the evening, I was surprised to see that the situation had not changed in those 8 hours—with tree still lying on the power lines and the road blocked off. But twelve hours later still, the next day, the situation was the same. This situation was the focus of conversation among my companions at the subway station.
       I decided to call the electric company to report this dangerous situation. The company representative thanked me for calling, but said they had 11,000 such situations to clean up and were now down to 4400. “In your city, we can’t do much, as all the utility poles are owned by the telephone company. You will need to call your city for it is the responsibility of the city to take care of the downed trees.”
       Later, the electric company sent me a text, announcing that there was a power problem in my neighborhood and that I would receive updates in their fixing the problem.
When no updates were forth-coming, I supposed that our home had lost electricity, because that tree had pulled down the power lines. I tried to think of how we would manage on a winter night with no electric power.
       So, when I walked home that evening, the road block was gone and the tree was also gone, just a stump left behind. The utility poles and wires were in place. We were so overjoyed that our home had not lost electric power and so we could have a normal evening, with lights, cooking dinner, etc. We always appreciate these modern conveniences, when we think we may be in danger of losing them.
       We don’t know who fixed the problem with the tree, but thankfully, some agency, whether the city, electric company or telephone company.
       I am thankful that our Heavenly Father never “passes the buck”. He met our condition head-on and never wavered. When all else gave up on the human condition, He sent Jesus to pay the price for sin, so we could be part of God’s family and Kingdom by believing in Him. He removed that “tree” and the threat of the power line falling on an unsuspecting pedestrian.