The Bucket List - Pt 3

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre! He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills. He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry. (Psalm 147:7-9 ESV).

The Century Tree, located near the Academic Building on the main campus of Texas A&M, is a place that holds a special place in the heart of many Aggies. Well over 100 years old, the tree was one of the first trees planted on Texas A&M's massive 5,200-acre campus. The beautiful live oak has been the site of countless Aggie marriage proposals, weddings, and tourist snapshots because of its immense size and its unique drooping branches, many of which rest on the ground. Tradition says that if a couple walks together underneath the Century Tree, they will eventually marry (we did) — and if a marriage proposal takes place under the tree, the marriage will last forever (we are now at 48 years and counting). This picture was taken a few years ago when we visited the campus. A project that was begun some years ago at A&M is the harvesting and planting the acorns from this tree. As they grow into healthy seedlings they are offered for sale to those who may wish to replant them in their yards. That’s on my bucket list. Now that it is reasonable to expect we will be in this location for the foreseeable future, it is an investment I really want to make. And, that brings me to another suggestion for “the Bucket List.” Plant some flowers or a tree in your yard. This one doesn't sound as spiritual or as life-changing as some of the others on the list. But shouldn’t we recognize the beauty God has created and seek to spread it through our efforts at planting flowers, shrubs, or trees where we can? And, the bonus of planting this tree is the memories that I could leave behind for others. We have lived in many different homes through the years. At each location we have learned to appreciate the unique landscapes. I remember when we moved to one city, almost forty years ago. Our home had a blank landscape. There wasn’t one tree in the near acre the house sat on. I began to transplant trees almost immediately. We only lived there three years, but my hope was to leave something of permanence on the site for others to enjoy. They were little more than saplings then. Recently when visiting that site we were delighted to see those trees soaring over the landscape nearly thirty feet tall! Maybe Francis of Assisi had it right. As he worked in his garden, he was asked, "What would you do if you knew you were going to die tomorrow?" He answered, "Go right on working in my flower garden."