The Almond Tree

About this post: Solomon, a wise man indeed, wrote a description of aging in Ecclesiastes 12. Some of his descriptors: “When the keepers of the house tremble and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, when the almond tree blossoms.” Almond trees turn white when they blossom, referencing our graying hair when we age.

The Almond Tree

See the aging around us, how they grow in number daily.

Don’t look away; look into, and you’ll see two types.

One group will stand tall and straight. They are slightly built.

They are this way because of fortune or favor or luck. Maybe discipline.

Life’s winds have not broken them.

They greet the day with joy and light.

We might be able to learn from them.

See the other group? They are bent over.

Backs curved. Legs bowed. Their eyes are on the ground.

If you watch them, their heads are far in front of their feet.

Their eyes tell of betrayal and pain.

Their bodies broken by hard time.

Why do they lean so far forward?

They are using gravity and inertia to help them move forward.

Not unlike the sprinter at the starting line.

Just slower.

When you see this group, do me a favor:

Find a way to help the road rise up to meet them.

Their days are longer than yours.

Their way is harder than yours.

You can smooth their path with kindness.

Two reasons:

It’s the right thing to do.

And you don’t know yet which group you’ll be in.