A few weeks ago Cole and I visited Big Heart Orphanage in Mexico. We go down a few times each year to see and play with the kids, help with projects and shoot photography for their website and any other need they may have. This trip was mostly playing with the kids (Score!) and getting some imagery for their new apparel store. The images are going to be used on their website as well.
What’s really special, and actually sad at the same time, is a story about 2 very, very large Ficus trees at the orphanage.
About 20 years ago they planted two Ficus trees that over the years have grown beautifully well and have become absolutely enormous. They have been a sight to see whenever my son Cole and I arrive, every time. The heat in Mexico can be stifling and these trees have provided a reprieve from the repressive heat during the summer. They have also provided the kids a place to play, climb, hang on and so much more. I mean, come on, what kid doesn’t like to climb trees! Right!? Lol! Well, a few months ago during the major cold spell here in the south, both trees were damaged severely, and they didn’t come back all the way. There are still signs of life, but it’s going to be slow going for a while to know how well they will rebound.
A couple years ago on another trip down I got a few shots of them. I suppose you can now say I snapped their photos for posterity’s sake!
Here’s the cool thing about it all though. They recently made a new shirt for their line of apparel. It was a piece of art that a local artist drew for them, of one of the trees, based on one of those photos I got a couple years back. It’s a great shirt and it made me feel good knowing they used one of my photos to make a super cool shirt!
With the new shirt made and created a friend of the director of the orphanage, Micah Carter, suggested a very appropriate bible verse to accompany the design. It is perfectly fitting, and we are all hoping that one day, the verse has an even more special meaning when these beautiful trees come back to their full potential.
There is hope for a tree. When it is cut down, it will sprout again. Job 14-7
Here’s the thing, Job was being stripped of everything recognizable in his life at the time. Family, finances, health, home, you name it. God had allowed satan to wreak havoc on him, to test him, all the while knowing Job would not abandon his faith in Him. Job believed he would be restored one day in God’s own time.
That’s how it often is in our own lives. Got takes away. God gives. God heals. The purpose? To refine us. To help us grow. To teach. To love. As fire refines precious metals and gems, so trouble and tribulation refine our love and faith in God.
The trees will come back. Better and more beautiful than ever. Have hope.
If you would like to explore some of our past trips we have made down to Big Heart Orphanage through the years, through imagery, feel free to visit Big Heart’s gallery!