A long time ago
when I was wee
a storm raged
through Derry and Donegal
leaving behind it
a trail of devastation.

One casualty of this storm
was a tall tree
just outside Carrigans, Donegal.

Felled by the storm
the tree lay right across a field
and everyone believed
that it would die.

The tree didn’t die
but it changed
in a very dramatic and unexpected way.
It continued to live,
drawing life from the soil
through its few remaining roots.
The tree’s branches,
Instead of drooping and fading,
began to thrust tall and strong
towards the sky.

Today, over 30 years later,
the tree is still going strong,
its branches looking just like a straight row of trees
standing tidily to attention.

Picturing the Carrigans Tree
in my mind’s eye,
I find myself fascinated
by the resourcefulness of Nature
and then fascinated in turn
by My God,
who masterminded Nature.

My God had the imagination
to transform the stricken Carrigans Tree
when the storm struck.
He also has the imagination
to transform our stricken lives
if only we will let him.

© Claire Murray, 22nd October 2017