The Lonely Pine

In the small stand of trees
on the north side of my house
stands a lonely pine.

I just noticed it today.
I wouldn’t have noticed it
at all if the leaves had still been
on the hardwoods that surround it
and if the sun had not been shining
on it just the right way.

But there it was, shivering with all
the other trees in the frigid morning air.

The lonely pine is a symbol. It stands for
all those who, though standing in the
midst of a crowd feel overlooked or invisible.

We’ve all felt that way before: When you
want to be seen, known and loved.
Whether you're surrounded
by others, or all by yourself, these times
can lead to sadness and despair.

Even the name the tree bears, the “lonely pine”
is symbolic. The tree is lonely because
even though it is surrounded on all sides
it feels alone and forsaken. Pine
because that’s mostly what it does;
it pines to be understood – to understand
– to love and to be loved – to find its place
in a forest of other pines.

It pines for what is not
instead of what is.

I have felt like the lonely pine before. Have you?
I felt that way in Africa; a tiny speck of
white in a sea of black faces. Truth is, I feel
that way right now; lost, adrift, searching
and alone.

In Psalm 102:7 David compared himself
to a lonely sparrow. One that had lost its
mate or its young, or for some other reason
has become miserable, and now the poor bird
sits and pines away on a rooftop.

Lord why can’t the lonely pine simply be?
And why, Lord, is the lonely pine like me?