Encounter with a Stubborn Tree

Winter, 1997

It was our family tradition to enroll our older children in early morning Seminary. This is an hour of religious instruction before the start of public school classes. My wife and I were quite happy when our oldest daughter, Emily, obtained her driver’s license. This meant we no longer had to get up at 5:30 am to drive them to the church to attend the class.

One icy winter morning, we were quite suddenly awoken when our son Ryan banged on our bedroom door to announce that he and Emily had smashed the car into a large tree on the way to Seminary. The road was very slippery from the ice, causing Emily to lose control of the car. That stubborn old maple tree had no intention of moving out of the way for a wimpy little Ford Fiesta. Consequently, the Fiesta was transformed into a mangled mass of metal and broken glass. Fortunately, Ryan was unharmed and Emily sustained painful, but not serious injuries.

When all the fuss and anxiety had calmed down, my wife and I gathered our little family back into our family room. We knelt in a circle and offered a simple prayer of gratitude that our family had been spared from the calamity of death or debilitating injury. The words of the prayer were brief and heartfelt, but the choicest moments came after the prayer. It was always our pattern to conclude a family prayer with a hug and a kiss for each child. On this occasion, I lingered a few precious seconds longer than usual with each hug, relishing the privilege of embracing a child who was still very much alive and healthy. Our hearts were very tender as we rejoiced together as a family that morning.

I call them “focus moments”, these experiences that remind us with such brilliant clarity what things matter the most in this life.