He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. (Psalm 1: 3)

Dr. Phale D. Hale, Sr. was my colleague in Columbus, Ohio and a mentor in ministry. During the ninety plus years that he lived, he was a powerful preacher, an innovative pastor, an elected politician, a civil rights pioneer and more. Those who knew him well and those who even casually met him were impressed by his deep wisdom and quick wit.

In the nearly thirty years that I knew him, just about every time I heard him speak publicly, he somehow found a way to recite this poem by Douglas Mallock about a tree. I include it as today’s devotion because the testimony of this tree speaks for itself on the advantages of adversity.

The tree that never had to fight, For sun and sky and air and light, But stood out on the open plain, And always got it’s share of rain, Never became a forest king, But lives and dies a scrawny thing. The man who never had to toil, To gain and farm his patch of soil, Who never had to win his share, Of sun and sky and light and air, Never became a manly man, But lived and died as he began.

Good timber does not grow in ease, The stronger the wind, the stronger trees The farther sky, the greater the length The more the storm, the more the strength, By sun and cold, by rain and snow, In tree and men good timbers grow. Where thickest lies the forest growth We find the patriarchs of both. And they hold counsel with the stars Whose broken branches show the scars This is the common law of life.