Fearless Faith

Fall was a popular time growing up in a small rural community. The maples and oaks, though never quite as majestic as their eastern states counterparts, nevertheless provided a wealth of color and anticipation for the autumn holidays which were sure to follow. Our favorite trees were known by heart, each special limb or crook or natural perch a place of childhood wonder and familiarity. But in my small town there was one tree that was valued by a few kids more than all other trees combined. It wasn’t due to its size (it was in fact diminutive) or its foliage or location or even climbability. It sat in front of a rather nondescript cottage style abode, a few of its branches just barely reaching past the lawn to the edge of the sidewalk. Its rarity for our climate also meant that its nut was seldom seen; that of the horse chestnut or common buckeye.

Now to those who have never had a buckeye among the other treasures that collect in the drawers and pockets of young kids, I suggest you have truly missed something wonderful. The smooth burnished nut that is found within a most unlikely looking rough husk is a wonder to behold. Deep lustrous walnut brown with a characteristic white spot, or eye, the buckeye would harden and could inhabit a junk drawer for years to come. Even now, it is nigh criminal to throw one out. They are an inspiration of youth.

So it was two years ago that a horse chestnut tree was purchased and planted south of the house. This fall finally paid off in the extravagant presence of three asymmetrical husks that outlasted the leaves by a couple of weeks. Much to the satisfaction of the child within, three beautiful perfect buckeyes resulted. The hardest part was waiting until they were mature enough to break free from their confines and hard enough to not easily mar.

The husk, the waiting, the anticipation and the final results are indicative of the kind of reward we experience when we cultivate true friendships with others. We’re eager for quick results and perfect conclusions, but what we usually encounter in good friends is the need to accept the roots which support the living branches which feed the tree in order to produce the fruit. Sometimes the fruit appears in unexpected forms … inside rough coverings which may be tough to open or bound within personalities that hide the true beauty of the real product. Don’t lose heart, for to discover the buckeye within the husk is a thrill each and every time.

“Some friends play at friendship but a true friend sticks closer than one’s nearest kin. A friend loves at all times… (Proverbs 18:24 and 17:17a, NRSV). ”It matters not that the exterior may be a little rough or that it takes a long time, and some degree of patience, for the true beauty to be realized. As humans, we are masters of critique. True friendship asks us to set aside that critique and consider the value that resides in each person. And when you find it, polish it up and place it with the other treasures that remind us to “take hold of the life that really is life (1 Tim. 6:19b).” Even if it is nothing more than a lowly buckeye.