The following inspiration message was noted on a Hallmark card I recently purchased. I bought
the card for an old family friend, Charles (Chuck) Bertolini. Mr. Bertolini had several recent
health challenges and I wanted to give him a note of encouragement. The card caught my
attention because of the title “The Oak Tree.” The Bertolini’s and the Kline’s were neighbors
for many many years in the little city of Royal Oak, Michigan. Royal Oak was named
appropriately – after its many oak trees.
Then, I read the message and almost broke down crying in the Hallmark store. I had recently
encountered my own challenges, which are very personal, but the message lifted me. I then
thought back to not too long ago when I was diagnosed with celiac and how you feel so beaten
down (from trying to get healthy) – how you don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. Then,
day after day and little by little you get stronger and stronger. Our roots – our human fiber – are
much stronger than all the adversities that can come our way.
So, as the Hallmark message says below – know that you have roots growing stronger since your
birth. The message continues with – “especially now, try to remember that you’re stronger than
any problem you encounter or any disappointment life will bring. Thinking of you, believing in
you, caring for you.”
Receiving the celiac diagnosis is truly a blessing – it is the water that feeds our roots – which
allows us to become a strong and thriving being again.
Best Wishes, Janet
| Inspirational Corner: The Oak Tree |
| The Oak Tree ... a Hallmark Message |
It stole the oak tree’s leaves away, Then snapped its boughs and pulled its bark until the oak was tired and stark. But still the oak tree held its ground while other trees fell all around… The weary wind gave up and spoke, “How can you still be standing, Oak?” The oak tree said, “I know that you can break each branch of mine in two, carry each leaf away, shake my limbs, and make me sway. But I have roots stretched in the earth, growing stronger since my birth. You’ll never touch them, for you see, they are the deepest part of me. Until today, I wasn’t sure of just how much I could endure. But now I’ve found, with thanks to you, I’m stronger than I ever knew.” |
| The Oak Tree |
| A Message of Encouragement |
| p.s. On an recent Oprah show, Oprah mentioned that the one thing she would do if she knew it was her last day - would be to sit under her oak tree to read and reflect. |
January 26, 2008
July 22, 2009
July 22, 2009
| Tall oaks from little acorns grow. ...David Everett The Columbian Orator, 1797 |
Charlotte, NC
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| Never give up the fight! |
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