The Peace Tree
A symbol of Peace for our native Americans
Let us carry on this tradition with Peace in our hearts.
Inner peace transforming into community peace
Transforming into World Peace. Let us Pray..
One of the most popular trees decorated at Christmas time is the Eastern Pine. The Eastern White Pine is the state tree of Maine and Michigan.
The tree is called the “peace tree” because it symbolizes the great peace that years ago united the warring tribes of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca into one. Legend says that an Indian peacemaker named Dekanawidah had traveled among these nations in the north eastern United States urging them to stop fighting. He used the Eastern White Pine as a symbol in his negotiations since the tree’s “roots of peace” extended north, east, south and west. His analogy eventually convinced the tribes to form a five-nation confederacy. Tribal chiefs would meet under the peace tree to resolve issues, with weapons being buried under the tree to seal a peace agreement.
…as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one crying out in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.”
Luke is quoting a prophecy by Isaiah which was written when the Israelites were being held captive in a foreign land. Imagine how the chosen people felt when they heard this prophecy. God is promising to free them from their captivity, and the prophet is describing the “red carpet” that would be laid out for them on the way home – a road that was straight, level and smooth.
One of God’s greatest gifts to the people of Israel in the past had been freedom. Now people believed that the trademark of the long-awaited Messiah would also be freedom. And so it was that John the Baptist, in announcing the Messiah, used those same words from Isaiah to describe the journey to freedom. Freedom. That is the gift promised by the Messiah.
As I prepare for Christmas, I ought to look at the ways in which I am not free. Perhaps I’m a captive of my past. Perhaps I’m on a treadmill of trying to prove something to myself or to others. Or to live up to an image. Or to be a success according to the terms of the world. Maybe I’m a captive of situations over which I seem to have no control. As I prepare to celebrate the birth of the Messiah, the red carpet to freedom is laid out for me. All I need to do is let the Messiah give me his gift of freedom.
Spend some quiet time with the Lord.
I wanted to take a moment to thank all my clients, friends, and any one who is interested in organics. Water our most precious resource, and our oceans are suffering badly. Pesticides, plastics and our own apathy, have seriously comprised the purity of our water. We must start with ourselves. From reusable shopping bags, to insisting on organic lawn care and tree and shrub sprays, we must step up our commitment to protect our planet, Mother Earth.
Preaching aside; I hope we all take the time to have spiritual and Holy Holiday’s. Take the time to nourish ourselves, enjoy family, rest up and re- energize; if we fail to do so and enter the new year exhausted, it is on ourselves.
Let us all prosper in the new year. Let us step up our commitment to our environment. Let us treat each other with dignity and respect, no matter what our Religion of Politics.
Thank You,
At Lincoln Landscaping cultivating the environment is our life and livelihood. It is our number one goal to help our clients create and maintain beautiful landscapes while reducing the impact on the environment. Whether you are interested in a pollinator landscape garden design and build or other landscaping or property management project; we can create for you an environmentally friendly, organic and beautiful property.
Lincoln Landscaping of Franklin Lakes offers complete
organic landscaping, lawn care, turf and property management services.
Lincoln Landscaping “The Natural Choice”
Mike Kolenut President & CEO
https://lincolnlandscapinginc.com
(201) 848-9699
