Walking The Land

Today we had Walk The Land and the rains held off long enough for us to enjoy the beautiful surrounds of Mt Martha at the Balcombe Estuary. The wind was roaring around us, the ocean smells filled the air, mixing beautifully with the smells of gumtrees and local wild flowers. There is something calming and serene about spending time just "being" in and with nature. Immersing yourself in all of God's beautiful can really lift your spirits and give your mood and energy a boost.
After our walk Sr. Rosarii shared the following reflection with us.

I hope you enjoy

~ Kelly  

THEOLOGY OF THE GUM TREE:

A lot of our hurt comes from trying to be perfect. Most of us up brought up with the theology of the pine tree - Everything symmetrical and perfect. Look at the gum tree, there is nothing symmetrical; branches go everywhere - they're twisted, always shedding leaves and bark, there is a great deal of messiness about them.

And yet they are perfect because that is how they are made we were made, we were made human beings, not Gods. Human beings are messy  like the gym tree - there is nothing perfect or symmetrical about us. We have twisted parts and broken parts but that is how we were made so we are perfect.

A gym tree grows from the inside out and that is why it loses its bark, the outer bark splits and peels off. We also grow from the inside out, this takes time - we go along smoothly for a while and then lapse, which slows the journey. It is a slow process growing from the inside out but as long as we are on the journey we are perfect.

Gum trees are very messy, the leaves, branches and bark all fall into the ground and become a humus the new life. So it is with us - it is from our experiences that we learn how to live; from our brokenness others game compassion and understanding. In accepting our own brokenness we become gentler and learn to accept that we are human beings.

(Source Unknown)