I was taking a walk on the nature trail at the Wesley Center in Woodworth, Louisiana during a silent retreat in the beginning of October ... the air was cool but not particularly crisp for there was the hint of rain in the air. I traversed an asphalt trail, interrupting the natural habitat of insects and turtles and beavers and so many other creatures of the wild, from one side of the property to the other. The leaves were just beginning to turn but the predominant colors to be seen were brown and green ... colors that speak to me of the cycle of life. The only exception were brilliant yellow daisies that peeked out from the brush as I walked ... a happy "yoo hoo, over here." Yet it was this fallen bit of tree that caught my eye and spoke to me in my silence. What a journey he must have been on! His twisted trunk and his gray pallor lay perfectly in the stillness ... resting from years of natural abuse ... perhaps all that is left from a mighty large oak or more likely a pine in the piney woods. How I would love to know his story and the wisdom of his life. How I would love to sit awhile and share my own story and how I sometimes feel this way on the inside. The silence is different for everyone but there is something about this tree that touched me in mine and brought me a deep sense of the calming presence of God. So ... where have you felt the deep sense of calming presence of God lately?