More than Survival

I want to be like the birch tree in my yard. Storms have battered her, broken branches, even taken down half the tree, but she still stands proudly showing her scars and carrying on. Her trunk is riddled with holes, but she doesn’t mind. They provide shelter for the birds - especially now when the wind chill is in the double digit negatives. When spring comes, she will spread her leaves again, providing what shade she can, sheltering the nests in her holes from the neighborhood cats, putting oxygen into the air, providing life. She is doing more than surviving. She is living to her fullest potential - in full grace and beauty.