Ever Green

Many people have asked about the significance of my tree tattoo. I've given some short and some in depth answers, but one part of it's significance that I think I have yet to explain is it's representation of an idea about living. Several years back, when I was in college, a song came out that echoed a desire I think many of us have and did it in a way that really resonated with me. The song speaks of life and seasons, living and dying and ends with the desire to live. We are taught that everything has it's time and season. There is even designated time to live and time to die. Nature reflects this. It's mirrored in trees. But not all trees mirror this idea in the same way. There seems to be a duality to the idea as to the trees. Deciduous means "temporary" or "tending to fall off" (deriving from the Latin word decidere, to fall off) and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally. Coniferous, or evergreen, trees are different. They are designed to stay green throughout the entire year, instead of losing their foliage annually. In essence, they live all year long.

I find the similarities and differences between two, otherwise similar, forms of plant life quite intriguing. I wonder what I am suppose to learn from this. I don't think there is a hard and fast lesson to be learned, but I do think God is trying to teach us, or at least get us to think about something.

Here's one of the things I've come across in my reflections. I know that life has seasons and that during them, things live and die and change, but I also think that this life is as season unto itself. I find myself wanting to be kind of like the evergreen tree. It goes through seasons of change, but shows life through all. In my broken state though, I find myself to be more like the deciduous trees; living at times, showing life to myself and others and truly living as God had intended, but then at other times, at inconsistent seasons, I find myself to be dead or at least dormant in the living of my life.

I think this life is a season and a season meant to be lived to it's fullest. Every moment we are given should be lived and not just survived. Easy? No. Original? Hardly. But this is my way of seeing and experiencing and understanding it.... and I just thought I'd share it with you.

Me and the trees, losing our leaves
Falling like blood on the ground
I want to be evergreen
Everything dies, I know last night
Part of me was in the ground
I want to be evergreen
Yeah, evergreen...

Waiting, and listening
Hoping and missing all of our time left alone
I'm the one cutting the rope
Frostbite in winter,
'cause like a splinter
you come and follow me down
I'm the one cutting the rope
Yeah...

[Chorus:]
Holiday end,
I'm here once again,
And I'm left alone on the bus with my
Head on the ground,
In hopes that I'm found by you
This time around

The sun will rise soon and tackle the moon
Chasing it still in the sky
All that I've got is tonight
Excuses and reasons,
And now t'is the season
For all that I never got right
All that I've got is tonight

[Chorus:]
Holiday end,
I'm here once again,
And I'm left alone on the bus with my
Head on the ground,
In hopes that I'm found by you
This time around

The night is a crow saying, "Come hold me "
All that I know is I've been so lonely for you
All that I knew, and all that I know found itself under Your reign
I want to be evergreen

[Chorus:]
Holiday end,
I'm here once again,
And I'm left alone on the bus with my
Head on the ground,
In hopes that I'm found by you
This time around

I want to be evergreen, I want to live all year round
I want to be evergreen, I want to live all year round
I want to be evergreen, I want to live all year round
I want to be Ever Green, I want to live all year round

-Switchfoot