The Glory of Carmel

Any second the Bradford Pear that line our neighborhood streets will burst into a profusion of white flowers. When that happens, the main drag in our neighborhood will become a cathedral of white blossoms twining into an arch over the street. It only lasts for about a day or two, and then the trees turn green. It is what first drew us to our neighborhood, and still makes me shudder with joy when they bloom all together as if on cue. One blossoming Bradford Pear is lovely. A hundred of them in a row, all waving the same glorious pure white petals to a deep blue heaven is a foretaste of eternity and the Creation in communal praise to the Creator.

One by one, over the 18 years we have been here, the Bradford Pear have been chopped down, or broken apart in a storm and died. They are a top-heavy tree and the limbs are prone to breaking away. Their life span is only about 20-25 years, and they have all reached it. I cannot bear the thought that one day I will walk down the main drag in our neighborhood, and the trees will no longer be waving those banners of delight above me. I want to do a door-to-door crusade and beg the homeowners to replant a Bradford Pear, but of course, that is not my place. The owners are sick of breaking branches with every storm.

So as soon as the Bradford Pear bloom, I will walk several times a day in the cathedral of blossoms, swirling in the petals fluttering on the wind, knowing that all this will pass away too soon.

Isaiah 35:1-2 (NIV)
The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, [2] it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.



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