The Tree Stump

During the summer there have been several home improvement/landscaping projects going on in our neighborhood. One house's landscaping project really intrigued me. Let me paint a visual picture, since unfortunately I did not take any pictures of the project.

There was a nice house with a large tree stump (approx. 3 ft. high x 3 ft. wide) in the middle of the front lawn. It was an eye sore and one day I was happy to see some activity around the stump. My first thought was they were removing the stump. As the days went by the stump remained, however a large pile of stone/brick pavers were delivered to the stump.

The stump and the pavers set for several weeks. Then one day I drove by and the homeowners had made a large circle of pavers two levels high around the tree stump. At this point I laughed every time I drove by because it looked ridiculous to have a circle of pavers around a large tree stump. It became an ugly focus of the front yard. Once when Kyle and I were discussing this horrendous landscape project we determined they must be building a fire pit. We thought it was strange to place a fire pit in your front yard, but to each his own.

The spectacle remained for several weeks. Then one day I drove by and to my shock they had built up the stone paver circle. It was now a 3 ft. high stone circle around the tree stump. It looked even more ridiculous than before, but it always brought a smile to my face when I drove by. I thought, what kind of people would put this monstrosity in their yard? Kyle and I again discussed the project and determined they must be making a large wishing well. Again it sat in this state for several weeks. Then one day I drove by and this is what it had been transformed into:

A prominent flower bed with a statue of Jesus loving the little children perched on the large stump. I was astonished and immediately humbled. That day the Lord reminded me of three lessons.

1. What I see as beautiful may be ugly to others and vice versa.

2. Jesus does love all the little children :)

3. Don't judge so quickly. What may appear ugly/bad at first could turn into something beautiful/good.

As I drive by this house almost daily I always smile and I am reminded that judging others is not my job.

Thank you Lord for teaching us lessons in subtle and not-so-subtle ways :)