Today's work for future benefits

I grew up in a region of Nebraska commonly called "The Sandhills." It probably was at one time a pretty big desert with pure sand hills that covered maybe a quarter of the state of Nebraska, but little by little the sand hills began to grass over. Today the Sandhills are covered by numerous varieties of grass with a fairly thick sod covering.

One thing that is absent from the Sandhills is trees. When I was growing up, the only trees in the Sandhills were planted around the old homesteads. Most of these trees were cottonwood or Chinese elm with a few willows. There simply weren't many trees. To provide heat through the winter, the homesteaders would gather cow chips and burn them during the winter for heat. There wasn't enough wood to use in the old wood stoves.

But somewhere in the '70s and '80s, the landowners in the Sandhills began to plant cedar and fir and spruce-type trees. These windbreaks were planted to provide protection for the cattle from the wind that swept across the hills. Many of these trees were planted and watered to keep them alive and growing. Today you can see numerous stands of pine and cedar trees in many of the valleys. What I find interesting is that many of those who planted these stands of trees died before the trees really took off and grew. It was as if the landowners planted the trees for the future.

That's kind of what I've been told down here in Southeast Missouri. One can plant some soft, quick-growing trees such as Bradford pear, and you will have big, tall beautiful trees in a hurry. But come a strong wind and inclement weather, these soft trees will be scattered all over the ground. But you can also plant oak trees for one's children and grandchildren. Oaks take years and years to grow because they have a dense wood that will stand up through a wind storm.

When we moved out where we live about 25 to 30 years ago, we planted a row of oak trees along our west property line. Then about 20 to 30 feet east of this row of oak, we planted a row of cedar and fir and pine and Cyprus trees. Marge and I were really planting the trees for the future. As these trees grow we have truly enjoyed watching them get taller and taller. If we live long enough, these rows of trees will be a neat addition to our place out here.

I guess it all boils down to one's view of life in general or one's view of the world. Some want to get instant gratification, while some aren't worried about the rewards. Some just want to do what is right regardless of the rewards or even the cost. One of my favorite characters from bygone days was John Wesley. He preached a sermon on the use of money. His basic points were to earn all you can, to save all you can, but to also give all you can. Wesley noted back in his time the Methodists were good at the first two points, but failed on the third which was to "give all you can." He was encouraging his followers to find a need and fix it, to have a long-time view of extending a helping hand to others.

Some feel the solution is to throw in a few dollars and that fixes it or that's all they need to do. In my opinion, what's needed is to give or do or volunteer beyond our comfort level. The widow in the Bible threw in a few coins, which was in essence all she had. But we need to be careful. Some volunteer groups spend 90% or more on fundraising while some spend over 90% on helping others. Maybe volunteer to help. Some businesses are closed because they can't get workers. Why not flip burgers for fun? Maybe help build some tacos. Maybe offer to fill in for a teacher or teacher's aide just for the fun of it.

I guess what I'm thinking is to get involved just to help.