{"id":13094,"date":"2021-06-03T10:43:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-03T15:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/?p=13094"},"modified":"2026-02-26T13:36:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:36:11","slug":"the-struggle-with-loving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/2021\/06\/03\/the-struggle-with-loving\/","title":{"rendered":"The struggle with loving"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Her wide arms \nreach and summon.\nI feel the lure even\nfrom a mile away.\n\nI met her, the giant \nGrandmother oak\ncentered on an island \nin the Jackson Park lagoon.\nIn those days, \nI wore rubber gloves and a mask, \nsanitized the handlebars.\nWhen air frightened me\nI met her, the giant.\n\nImmediately I loved her.\nImmediately I knew\nsolace and joy under\nher big branches, \nbranches like my grandma\u2019s\nlarge, loving arms.\nI found a home and wondered:\nCan I fall in love with a tree?\n\nSome days I am\nnot sure what love is. \nI assume it\u2019s relational \nsacrifice, but maybe \nit\u2019s simply attention. \n\nI don\u2019t doubt that I love her.\nSo then why have I ignored \nher whispered invitations \nbetween Zoom meetings \nand typing emails?\nWhile folding laundry or washing dishes,\nI often wonder how she\u2019s doing. \nI wonder about the size of her leaves, \nher current color of green. \n\nI am preoccupied\nand full of excuses. \nI am way too slow\nand not so good\nat loving my neighbor.\nI am way too slow \nat doing what\u2019s good for me\nand following my heart. \n\nWithout gloves, masks and sanitizer, \nover a year after I met her, \nI find myself under her branches.\nHeld by giant arms, \nI feel my heartbeat.\nI am discovering that \nI'm still alive,\nI still do love, \nand she still does reach. \n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
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Grandmother oak in Jackson Park. photo by Julia Walsh, FSPA. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Her wide arms reach and summon. I feel the lure even from a mile away. I met her, the giant Grandmother oak centered on an island in the Jackson Park lagoon. In those days, I wore rubber gloves and a mask, sanitized the handlebars. When air frightened me I met her, the giant. Immediately I...","protected":false},"author":4071079,"featured_media":13096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6469729,698755597,2178641],"tags":[693488705,694479852,698755634,724459,1965851,698755635,1861871,16111],"series":[698756626],"class_list":["post-13094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-activism","category-care-for-the-earth","category-prayer-and-spirituality","tag-coronavirus-pandemic","tag-covid-19","tag-love-poem","tag-love-your-neighbor","tag-nature-poem","tag-pandemic-poetry","tag-poetry-2","tag-trees","series-messy-jesus-business"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/20200516_141442-scaled.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/feed\/podcast\/messy-jesus-business","embedCode":"
The struggle with loving<\/a><\/blockquote>