When I was a little girl living in Saint Louis, Missouri my family had a dogwood tree growing in our back yard. Beneath the dogwood tree, there was a little fountain that made the gentle sounds of a rippling waterfall. There were also yellow trumpet flowers and pink tulips sprouting from the ground. In times of distress, I found solitude and peace under the dogwood tree. Beneath it’s white and pink cross-like flowers I’d let my emotions show in full. It was calming for me to lay on the ground among the trumpets and tulips and gaze in wonder at the dogwood tree’s winding limbs and fragrant four petaled flowers.
I’d heard the legend… Jesus was crucified on the wood of a dogwood tree. After his death, the dogwood tree never grew strong or large enough for anyone to hang on it’s wood again. It grew white and red four petaled flowers to remind others of the love, purity, mercy, and passion Jesus displayed on the cross. It was beneath the dogwood tree that my first meditations of Jesus’ passion began. It was beneath the dogwood tree where I first experienced peace during chaos. Now that I’m grown, I’d like to dedicate this blog to sharing my experience of Christ and the dogwood tree. I want to share the love, passion, mercy, and purity of God. I’d also like to share the peace I found in Him beneath the dogwood tree.