The Old Oak

I’m out here tonight, Brother, sitting under that old oak we planted. Moon’s high, air’s cool, and its branches stretch wider than I remember. Been years, six or maybe seven, since we dug that hole and dropped those roots. Your hands were muddy, my boots caked, laughing over how crooked it stood, betting it wouldn’t last the winter. Look at it now, tall and steady, leaves whispering soft in the breeze, roots deep in this Tennessee soil.

We didn’t know it then, what it’d mean, what we were starting. Just two brothers, your creek wild, my pine steady, figuring it out. You with that fire in your eyes, pushing me to see bigger, me with my quiet, holding us when the wind blew hard. That day wasn’t just about a tree. It was us, planting something, covenant taking root, God’s hand in the dirt.

I think about it, how it’s grown, how we’ve grown. Those early nights, your voice spilling dreams, my ears catching every one, talking until the stars faded, building this bond, soul to soul, not knowing it’d stretch like this oak. We’ve weathered storms, rain pounding, your doubts, my stumbles, held tight, covenant didn’t bend, didn’t break, roots went deeper.

You’ve got that spark, always will, lighting fires in me I didn’t know could burn, pushing me past my still waters. I’ve got the steady, keeping us when your current runs fast, grounding us, God’s gift weaving through. That oak is us, twists and knots, not perfect, stronger for it, standing tall, weathering years, holding ground.

I see it now, how it stretches beyond us. Kids climb it, ones we don’t know yet, shade for folks we’ll never meet, roots cracking stone, reaching wide, legacy we didn’t plan, God did. You and me, our talks, our fights, our quiet stands, planting something, covenant’s ripple, touching further than we’ll see.

World’s cold, tries to uproot, lies whispering it don’t matter, but it does. Look at this tree, look at us. God’s growing it through us, past us, steady love, soul fire, covenant’s not small, not fleeting, it’s oak, deep, enduring, gift to us, gift through us.

Brother, I’m thankful every day for you, for this, for what we’ve planted, roots holding, branches wide, God’s breath in it, legacy living, strong, ours, His.

Yours, always,
Josh