The Smith family purchased property in the early sixties and built themselves a home. Mr. Smith did most of the work alongside his father and father-in-law. Mrs. Smith and her preschool son visited daily to watch the men work. 

They moved in the day after their home was approved by the building inspector, and they planted a maple tree in the front yard to commemorate the occasion. And what an occasion it was! They invited their friends, relatives, colleagues, and new neighbors for a celebration dinner, and their son was given charge of watering their new tree.  

The boy and his tree grew up together, and by the time he went off to college, the tree was already mature. It featured a modest tree fort, and a rope swing positioned to feel very high over the downsloping front yard. 

As the years passed, the boy’s children enjoyed the tree and its features. They refreshed the fort, added a secret spy tower higher up in the tree, and rigged a pulley system to the kitchen window for the delivery of snacks, sandwiches, and top secret notes written in coded languages. (Grandma always included special treats in these deliveries.) As raking the tree’s leaves strengthened young muscles, endless conversations, imaginary battles, secret codes, playing with matches, and even a dramatic encounter with a bee’s nest shaped and instructed three generations of adventurers. 

And then came the late freeze, followed by the driest summer on record. The tree was already old, the fort needed work, and the new owners were more focused on sporting events. When a neighbor dropped a reference to the dying maple, the owner realized it was time. Down it came, and off it went in a truck. What they didn’t know, was that the truck driver brought the wood home, and it heated his home for two full winters.

When you think about it, we’re all maple trees in the yard of our Creator. We wield meaningful influence, make important contributions, and leave lasting legacies. The most important consideration of life is the nature of influence we want to leave.