Then God touched me on the shoulder 
and said, “Turn thy eyes this way and see 
this great oak tree." And I looked, and it 
seemed as if it reached the sky for it was 
a tall and sturdy oak — a fitting king of the 
forest. And He said, "Seest thou that 
grapevine reaching far up into the lofty re¬ 
cesses? All vines must have a support to 
ascend. This vine hath chosen well. But 
seest thou this broken tree nearby?" And 
I said, “I see it." And He said, “Look 
closer." And I beheld an ivy vine bleeding 
and broken for it had gone down with the 
tree, and its end had come. Then the voice 
said, “Go speak to the youth the parable 
of the ivy vine for they are like vines. They 
have energy and life, but they cannot 
climb the heights alone. Tell them to choose 
well their tree — not one with the seed of 
death in it, but one of life and strength, for 
all they are, all they possess, and their 
dreams are bound up with the tree they 
climb." 
Then I said to God, “How the poison ivy 
seems to flourish in the forest. It seems to 
climb to as great heights as any other 
vine." Then God led me a little deeper into 
the forest, and I saw another tree lying 
prone upon the earth, and lo, it was 
covered with poison ivy. “This," He said, 
“is the end of evil." And there lay a mass 
of broken poison ivy at my feet. 
Then I turned my lootsteps northward in 
the wood, and I came upon what was once 
a mighty oak, but now it was but a char¬ 
red ghost of its former self, for it had been 
burned with fire. Once a swarm of bees 
had found a home in a hollow place in the 
tree. During the summer they had gathered 
their honey and had stored it for the winter 
time. Later in the season a hunter passing 
through the forest heard the hum of bees 
and placed a mark upon the tree. Some 
days later he returned and builded a fire 
at the base of the tree to smoke out the 
bees and exultantly carried away the 
honey, forgetting the smouldering embers 
and caring little for the great king of the 
forest which had grown for a century from 
a tiny acorn to a great oak nourished by 
God's fertile earth. His sunshine, and His 
rain. So while he indulged in his bit of 
sweetness, this great monarch went up in 
flames which would have consumed the for¬ 
est had not a passerby extinguished them. 
And God said, “Tell my people not to live 
thoughtlessly, indulging in a bit of sweet¬ 
ness while they forget my choicest gifts 
which have been given at so great a cost." 
As I wandered thoughtfully along the 
woodland aisles, the same voice seemed to 
say: 
“Tread softly in the forest 
E'en tho the ground be bare 
Lest you should crush unknowingly 
Young forests sleeping there." 
Mr. E. D. Funk points with pride to his ma¬ 
jestic White Oak Tree. Woodsmen scale this 
I^ltree at about 5,000 broad feet. 
Then God spoke once again, “Seest thou 
the acorns at thy feet. I will cover them 
with leaves and branches, and they shall 
sleep through the winter months, and then 
my showers will form a mould about them, 
and the good earth will overshadow them, 
and the new forest shall take its beginning. 
In the city where thou goest are countless 
acorns in human form. Let my Church give 
her life to seeing that they get into the rich 
soil of life, that they may grow to be great 
oak trees that shall withstand the blasts for 
the world hath need of great trees." And 
then He added, “No tree falls in the great 
forest that does not carry down with it 
young trees that grow by its side." 
I came once again to Funk's Grove in 
the late afternoon. The trees were still 
dripping with autumn gold. I looked across 
the cultivated field where once stood the 
great trees of the forest. When the field 
was cleared, one great giant was spared. 
But left alone, they say it died of lonesome¬ 
ness. While in the forest it had given to 
the other trees and the other trees had 
given in return and together they had 
helped to keep the soil fertile for the roots 
of all. But when the other trees were rooted 
up, it soon died; for even this tree could 
not live alone, and neither can we who 
tread this earth in human form. 
I came to the place where three roads 
met, and the forest everywhere was glow¬ 
ing with gold and crimson, but as I gazed 
down the road which led to the left, its 
glory ended in darkness. And then my 
eyes turned to the road that turned to the 
right, and I saw at the end of the road, the 
light and the glory of the setting sun and 
down that road was a little white Church 
and I thank God for the promise, “At 
eventide it shall be light." And I prayed 
that our Church-house might make the way 
bright for all mankind. 
