The silver birch tree

My dear Friends In January 2000 I had just founded The Little Sisters of Joy with my friend Maryvonne. What better thing to do than to plant a tree in honour of the new foundation? I asked permission from the lady I was living with, Benigna Lehmann and she said she would be delighted to have it in her garden. Her son-in law Latif, a composer and a fine man, had just died and his daughter, Benigna's grandaughter, told me that his favourite tree was the silver birch-there was a trio of them in the Botanical garden in Cambridge. So I invited a group of close friends and one afternoon we planted a silver birch in Benigna's garden and made a little ceremony. We recited psalm 96 in which the trees of the wood 'shout for joy' at the presence of the Lord. The tree has grown enormous but luckily the garden was big enough for it to grow freely. When I moved over to the north of the city I decided to plant a sliver birch to show the continuity of The Little Sisters of Joy. In seven years it has grown tall and strong.But alas one of its roots has grown into my neighbours garden and the other roots are growing fast, so I am thinking of having it pruned and the root in the other garden taken away. Please pray that my beautiful tree will continue to grow as it is a wonderful symbol of spirituality, beauty and simplicity. As I write, I am on my way to the Botanical gardens and i will for sure look at the trio of birches which have grown strong and tall. Did you know that the Indians regards the birch as something mystical and use the bark to line their boats? And there are wonderful forests of them in Canada, Finland and Russia. Long may they last! Shalom from Sister Gila