As part of the YFC retreat looking at the metaphor of trees in our spiritual lives, we paid a visit to the Westonbirt Arboretum.

Its a magnificent place with hundreds of various trees growing in pretty amazing ways. I remember commenting on the variety of different greens that there were as we wondered from tree to tree following the footpath.

A couple of us were intrigued by the title ‘2000 year old lime’ on the guide and thought we should explore further. We were excited at the thought of being able to see part of creation that had been here when Jesus walked the earth; after all its not an experience that you can repeat every day.

We were quite disappointed to find what you see in the first picture – a 2000 year old Lime coppice. The trees themselves are quite young, but the base of the trunks (second pic), and the roots, date back 2000 years. It may not have looked that impressive, but the significance was evident.

As I look back on my life certain areas can seem quite young and immature – that’s because they are. When I look at others I can have a tendency to be quite judgemental and just look at the surface. If I had not known the significance of the age of this coppice I would have just wandered past.

Sometimes there is a need to pause, to reflect and consider the roots. This lime looked young, new, wispy and insignificant – but a closer look at the roots show that it stands on a pretty solid foundation that has sustained it for two thousand years, and probably will continue to sustain it for quite a while longer.