The Walnut Tree

I have a love-hate relationship with a tree.
It is a tree that is on our front lawn.
It is a tree that has a swing my husband made for our youngest daughter.
It is a tree that children run to when they are at our house.

It is a walnut tree.
For anyone that has a walnut tree in their yard, you know the mess they create.
The walnuts drop constantly onto the driveway with a loud, PLOP.
As we drive up the driveway, the walnuts crush under our tires.

The walnuts are all over the lawn underneath the tree.
Needless to say, squirrels and chipmunks love our front lawn.
I will see them scurrying with a walnut in their mouth.
I hear them banging the walnut against any surface to get to the nut inside.

Black walnut trees produce a toxic substance that can be harmful to nearby plants.
Only certain plants can be planted near a walnut tree.
Walnut trees are highly sought after for their wood.
If someone cuts down a walnut tree, the wood can be sold.

Cutting down the walnut tree is never an option.
For many reasons, it is part of our landscape.
I would love if the walnuts did not PLOP at such a rapid rate.
I would love if the sticks and long branches of leaves would not be all over the lawn.

It is not that I am obsessively neat.
It is simply that walnuts stain.
Obviously, that is why the wood is so desirable for making furniture.
That is why walnut stain is so popular for finishing furniture.

When the squirrels use our deck steps to crack open a walnut, the stain remains.
I know when the squirrels decide to use my side porch to remove the soft shell of the walnut.
I can hear the popping of the walnuts as my husband drives over them with the lawn tractor.
The sticks are all over my front walkway.

I use the leaf blower to clean off the driveway a bit.
The heavy walnuts will not easily blow away.
I will kick them out of the way like a soccer player using the side of my foot.
I often wonder what kind of soccer player I might be since my walnut kicking is quite good.

I had just gotten new sneakers to walk in each day.
After I did my sixth soccer kick, I looked down at my shoe.
The side of my new sneakers was stained.
Thankfully, the stain was on the sole and not the soft material but I was still annoyed.

I was annoyed at myself for not changing my shoes.
I was annoyed at the walnut tree for dropping so many walnuts.
I was grumbling in my head.
God, I know you made everything and declared it good, but walnuts? Really?

I wiped the side of my new sneaker with some paper towels in the garage.
The stain came right off.
I came inside and went into the living room.
I had to pass through the family room, which is carpeted.

I happened to look into the family room and saw a stain on the rug.
I knew right away what it was.
I looked at the bottom of my sneaker and saw a small piece of the soft walnut shell.
That small piece of walnut shell was stuck; it was just enough to make a stain on the rug.

I took off my shoes and removed the piece of soft walnut shell.
I went into the laundry room and got a carpet cleaner that works wonderfully.
I followed the instructions and sprayed the stain.
After the allotted time, I took a white paper towel and blotted the spot.

It was entirely gone.
The walnut stain was gone.
Only the memory of the stain was there.
Even my shoe was clean.

I know that every fall, someone will bring pieces of soft walnut shells on their shoes.
I do not ask people to take their shoes off when they enter my house.
Some people remove their shoes out of habit.
Young people always seem to take their shoes off when they come in.

The walnut stain, so desirable to some, is unwelcome to others.
There is a beauty to the tree itself yet there is toxicity to other plants that are nearby.
The walnut tree with its tree swing brings enjoyment; the clean up of the debris is a chore.
The walnut tree stands so tall and majestic yet its small leaves do not provide much shade.

How can something be two things at once?
How can a tree be pleasing in so many ways and toxic in other ways?
How can the walnuts that fall from the tree be food for the squirrels yet deadly to plants?
How can something be such a paradox?

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. (James 3:1-12)

Our tongue is a paradox just like my walnut tree.
We can praise the Lord one minute and cut someone down to size the next.
We can encourage someone with our words or we can demean them.
If we were honest, we would admit to having a love-hate relationship with our tongue.

There is a stain that is far greater than the stain of any walnut.
That stain is the Blood of Jesus shed for us on the cross.
We want the stain of His Blood to cover us.
We want the stain of His Blood to wash us clean.

The Blood of Jesus washes away the stain of our sin.
Jesus took the debris of our sin on Himself.
Jesus exchanged our debris for His spotless righteousness.
We are clean.

I may never look at my walnut tree quite the same way again.

2 responses to “The Walnut Tree”

1. I think the same way of the internet. Good and bad. Informative but can be used for many sinful purposes. It takes a lot of discernment to go on the internet and to live in this world. May God through His Holy Spirit give us the discernment we need.

   Reply

   • Sue,
     I never thought about the Internet being like a walnut tree.
     Thanks for opening my eyes to another possibility.
     Gina

     Reply