Our backyard is filled with big and small oak trees and even some cypress stand tall against the back drop of the water. 

My favorite has always been the mighty oak tree who has always bent down across the walkway.  She acted as a canopy over the walkway going out to the dock.  We have watched this mighty oak move downwards inch by inch as the base of the oak aged. 

Last year we had a tree surgeon check her out.  We were worried she would fall over and trap one of our grandchildren or one of the dogs chasing a ball.  He told us to let her fall gracefully and we would wake up one morning and there she would be.

I was glad to hear that and anxious at the same time.  I feared her fall would happen with one of us under her natural bow.

The tree surgeon pointed out that a smaller oak on the other side of the walkway was holding up this mighty oak.  As she began her bend to the other side, this smaller tree used his tiny branches to hold the oak up.  The old oak was actually resting in the arms of a younger oak. 

I loved that tree and her tree friend who held her up.  When hurricanes came through and flooded our backyard, those two trees stood together and weathered the storm.  When other branches fell from a strong wind, those two could be seen holding on for dear life.  It appeared these two mighty oaks were best friends and the younger one was doing all she could to keep her friend upright.

This morning as I was walking away from my computer and the daily attack from those who hate us, I felt the house shake and heard a soft, rustling thud in the backyard.  I figured another limb had broken off one of the trees.  When I got to the door…there she was.  The mighty oak was down.

As I walked outside to view the damage, a small canopy could still be seen as she continued her best to arch her trunk over the walkway.  The dogs cautiously walked under her and looked around at the change in scenery.  Her large limbs were intact – attached to her large curved trunk.  She fell in perfect form without harming the fish fountain that was still spitting water among the downed branches.  The large bird topiary could be seen standing in the middle of large branches who fell all around her.  And the old oak tree’s friend was still holding part of her branches as the others rested against her younger trunk.

Just as the tree surgeon predicted, she laid down quietly as her tree friend tried to save her.

I imagined how the other trees felt watching their friend die.  I wondered if trees had feelings and if they were crying for their loss.

I’ve sat outside for hours just looking at her.  In a day or two, men will converge on our backyard with chain saws and axes.  Her wood will be chopped up and some of her branches will be burned in the fire pit.  The rest of the wood will be put aside for next year’s cold spell.  All these years she gave us shade and next year she will give us warmth. 

You may tire of my writings and wonder how one person could have so many signs in her life.  I wonder that too.

When she fell this morning, I did not cry.  I will miss her and the beautiful canopy we have enjoyed for so long.  What I focused on was her friend who was left behind.  She is not as mighty in form and trunk but she did all she could do to support her tree friend.  In fact, without a doubt, she held her up longer than expected.  She just couldn’t hold the weight of that mighty oak as she inched closer to the ground day by day.  She didn’t have the large branches aged over time to hold her up anymore.

After two hours of looking at her, here’s the message I got from the One who blesses me with them.

Inch by inch our country is going down.  We are watching this happen yet we believe America could never go down.   We can’t fathom it because she has always withstood anything thrown at her.  It doesn’t even resonate as truth with so many.  But it is.  The facts are there and the many voices trying to sound the alarm are ridiculed and laughed at. 

Just imagine if all the trees surrounding our yard had pulled their branches together and placed them firmly under the bend of the old oak tree.  Although her roots would have finally given away, her friends would have supported her and kept her alive a little longer.  But reality is this:  Only one tree friend tried to hold her up and she couldn’t do it alone.  The weight of the old oak tree was too much for one to handle.

The old oak tree is dead.  It will take more people standing up to keep this from happening to America.