I perched high in the massive branches of the mulberry tree, escaping the pain of the world around me. I consumed berry after berry until my little fingers and lips were the color of a deep bruise. I wasn’t just feeding myself. I was caring for myself. The adventure of climbing branch after branch… the distraction of searching, picking, and eating… and the calmness of solitude in the tree all nourished me with more than just berries.

I’ve come to realize the tree is much smaller than I remember. I have slowly driven by the house and tree and have chuckled at how small that tree really is. I have also come to realize the pain and bruises I was trying to heal from are more severe than what I care to write about this morning.

What I will write about is the fact that I’ve been healing and growing. I have a life of blessing that I’m almost embarrassed by. I don’t feel like I deserve it. What I’ve been given is so much greater than what the enemy stole from me.

On July 26 we are closing on our forever home. It’s located perfectly for school, work, and ministry. I’ll have my sunrises, my wife will have her sunsets, and we will enjoy hundreds of them together. My kids will have their fishing, kayaking, chickens, rabbits, and more. We will have a steady salty breeze. We will have room to care for others. It won’t just be my oasis. It will be all of ours.

As providence would have it, I was just gifted a mulberry sapling by friends of ours- friends who only know a small part of my story. They only know that they saw a 42 year old man get distracted during their farm tour and get lost in the mulberry trees. They saw my big smile that showed off my purplish-black teeth and my stained fingers continuing to reach out for more. They loaded me up with a basket of berries for my kids. I unapologetically ate them all by myself 10 minutes into the ride home.

Later this month we will plant this little tree at our new home. In years to come I imagine I may have some little ones running around Papi’s home. I can’t wait to pick them up and help them reach the berries growing high on the towering branches. They can climb, but they won’t have to.