GOOD TIMBER

The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.

The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.

Good timber does not grow with ease,
The stronger wind, the stronger trees,
The further sky, the greater length,
The more the storm the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.

Where thickest lies the forest growth
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life.

by Douglas Malloch

A friend of my daughter's reminded me about this poem. I had been looking for it for days now. Tip o' the hat to John Webster.
I think about this poem whenever I think about growth and challanges that we as humans must go through in this life. I think of the survivors of Hurricane Katrina and what kinds of growth they will now go through as they face the loss of a home, maybe no jobs, or the loss of a loved one. Life will go on even with these hardships. Many will have to start over with little or nothing. I hope they have strength and the help of their Heavenly Father, as well as friends, as they march on and forge a new way for their families.