I can’t begin to understand it or explain it, but among the trees of Albright Grove, surviving so stubbornly the ravages of nature and of humankind, I felt some confidence and hope that things will be all right, in a way and on a scale that far transcends me and my lifespan. I still hold out hope that our species will finally learn to live peaceably among our nonhuman kin, rather than extinguish ourselves because we have failed in that learning.
But, either way, the trees will flourish—life will flourish. In time, cutover lands will become old-growth forests once again, and the broken and damaged webs of life will reweave themselves: Resurrection and redemption will happen. Creation will not hurry. Yet, as life thrives and evolves, God will accomplish everything.
—from Franciscan Spirit‘s “The Wisdom of Trees“
by Kyle Kramer
