Three years ago Monday we drove into Sulzburg for the first time, knowing this was to be our new home. Mind you, we hadn’t seen the apartment or signed the lease – and wouldn’t be able to that day as our prospective landlords were away.

First impressions are important. Sulzburg struck me as a sleepy little town, the sort of place tourists go to looking for the “real” Germany. As we have discovered, that was a pretty accurate assessment. Though I doubt there is any other similar sized German village with three Michelin-starred restaurants.

We were fresh off the plane, a little jet-lagged, and wandered through town. I took a few pictures.

There is a park behind city hall, and there we discovered this tree stump. I’m sure there is a story, but I have never remembered to ask anyone about it.

The stump is from a tree that was about 320 years old when it was cut down. They don’t last that long anymore, the Black Forest is extensively logged – and the loggers won’t wait a century to cut down the new growth they plant.

If Google is correct, this stump was once an oak tree. Looking at it gives new meaning to the saying “might oaks from little acorns grow.” I wonder if they say that here?

One of these days I will find out the story of how this stump got to be in the park. Maybe it is just a reminder of area history, maybe there’s something more. looking at these pictures and remembering that first impression of Sulzburg has me curious.

That such a huge tree can grown from a small thing like an acorn is impressive. Looking at it I realize that there was no human intervention required.

Which was a reminder, perhaps, that great things can happen if we just allow God some time to act. All too often I am impatient and try to rush things – and the results are nowhere near as impressive as this oak.

That’s your random thought for this Wednesday.