Heaven’s Heartbeat - Of Trees & Men
Even the switchbacks are lung-sucking steep on Mickinnick Trail. But the views and vistas looking East over Lake Pend Oreille are so breathtakingly beautiful, it’s worth every strenuous step. Or at least—that’s what Nancy and I kept telling ourselves as we labored up the three-mile route.
About two thirds of the way up the mountain we came to an area where a dozen or more massive trees had fallen, giving the impression of a gigantic game of pick-up sticks.
We paused to catch our breath, taking in the wild, tangled and chaotic sight.
The Forest Service had already worked through the snarled downfalls with a chainsaw, clearing the path. Passing by the enormous root balls that once supported these two-hundred-foot-tall Douglas Fir trees felt eerie. They looked as if a giant had come along and knocked them down.
Hiking on I wondered, “Why do trees fall?” As I was meditating on what I was seeing, the Holy Spirit spoke into my mind and heart these words:
“Trees, nations and humans fall for the same reason.”
The words were so forceful I stopped and shared what I heard with my wife. We both thought about it while we picked our way through the debris of uprooted timber.
Video clip of downed trees on Mickinnick Trail:
Seeing all those fallen giants took me back in time to another harrowing stretch of trail. For many years, the Cle Elum Ridge 50-kilometer trail run was an annual event for me and a few friends and family members on the second Saturday of September. When it was clear and sunny, the views of 14,000-foot Mount Rainer were incredibly gorgeous. There are huge conifers lining the cliff-ribbed mountainsides, mixed with hardwoods changing into the golds and reds of early autumn. Then you drop down into basins that make you dizzy, with glacier-cold creek crossings that ache to the bone.
I ran the 31-mile race 11 times, and usually the temperatures made me shiver at the 7:00 a.m. start. By the time we gained 6000 feet of elevation to Windy Pass, however—at mile 15—it warmed up considerably.
But not on the fifth year. That was the year and the race when Windy Pass decided to show off its name and reputation. The race started at Taneum Creek, where the trail shoots up the mountain for three miles, then switches from one shoulder to the other, crisscrossing Cle Elum ridge, climbing to Windy Pass.
On that day I ran alone, and the wind was howling and fierce. Reaching the ridgeline, the wind coming from the West seemed to pick up speed and force.
And then…the trees began to fall. All around me. Big, tall trees. For a moment, I wasn’t sure what to do. But then training kicked in and I kept moving and pushing forward, praying with every step for God to watch over all the racers, and to keep me clear of falling timber. A few times massive trees fell (literally) right in front of me with tremendous force, crashing, breaking, adding to the noise of the wind and blocking the trail before me. Before long, it all blended together into a deafening roar.
I had to crawl under or over downed trees. And it wasn’t until I reached the bare knobs of Windy Pass before I felt a little bit safer on the trail. Thank God no runners were injured or killed that day.
Truthfully, I love trees. Always have. When you step into a forest, the whole world is suddenly changed around you. From the Garden of Eden to the cross of Christ, Father God shows us that trees matter.
From the earliest days of our marriage, I can’t think of any place we have been that we haven’t planted trees—and often many of them.
When the LORD first whispered those words about trees and nations into my soul, I didn’t understand the parallels until I began to research what He was saying to me.
Trees, nations, and people are especially vulnerable to falling in storms.
Weak, damaged, and compromised roots, the very foundation of life, give way to fierce pressures and unrelenting forces that propel the fall.
Anything without roots dies.
Small, seemingly innocuous insects will invade a tree, a nation, or a human soul, subtilty, silently gnawing away at the very center and heart, until hollow places and decay weaken even the tallest and biggest and strongest across the landscape.
Malnutrition is an enemy of trees, nations, and humans. When physical and spiritual nutrients are ignored or missing, it is always the unseen, underground, rot and decay in the root systems and core that weaken and destroy life.
I’ve witnessed first-hand how anemic branch systems in the tops of trees can cause a tree to fall. In the woods, loggers call this a “widow maker,” because the tree grows divided into two large, unhealthy branches, then splits, fractures and falls because of a lack of unity and wholeness in the tree. When nations and humans are incongruent and divided, it always leads to a downfall. Especially when storms descend.
Nations and people are like a forest in that when they lose faithful members, they become weak and vulnerable. A forest of trees is a community of mutual protection and benefit. Standing shoulder to shoulder, the trees literally protect one another from destruction. Thinning is a valuable forestry practice, but when all the healthy trees are taken out it leaves the remaining members of the forest susceptible to storms, disease, and the infestation of insects. Nations, churches, and families either stand together or they will fall together.
In 2020 a small group of scientists collaborated on an article for Frontiers in Political Science titled, “Moral Collapse and State Failure: A View from the Past.”
The researchers examined common threads in the collapse of good governments. And here is what they identified as the chief culprit: It is leaders who undermine and break from upholding core societal principles, morals and ideals. Specifically, it is leaders who abandon the society’s founding principles and ignore their roles as moral guides for their people.*
In 1979, we planted a spindly pin oak you could lift with one hand. Today it is 60 feet tall, with a full, healthy canopy and large sturdy trunk. Good roots, too (I just can’t see them). When we drive by and admire that tree it is a reminder that trees are like our faith in Jesus, always growing and reaching up to God.
The Lord gave His prophet Jeremiah wise instruction to protect, guide and allow us to flourish as a forest, a nation, and a people—even with the threat of storms, divided government, and a culture in tumult. In Jeremiah, the Lord said:
“Blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit.”
(Jeremiah 17:7-8 NLT)
We do not have to fall.
- Micah
