My seedling faith...

I came to my first faith in God through an oak tree.
I was 11.
In the front yard of a duplex my family had just rented, an enormous oak tree grew. It was full of leaves when we arrived in August and then the leaves turned beautifully to fall colors and dropped.
Some people love fall for the colors.
I love the smell of the leaves as they return to earth.
Among those leaves, there were acorns.
After months of enjoying that tree in all its seasons, I studied an acorn.
I held it in my hand as I had done many times before, yet, this day, I was amazed. When I considered that this beautiful and steadfast tree had grown from an acorn, when I realized that the acorn in my hand contained the beginnings of life for an oak tree, I knew that there must be a brilliant and imaginative and patient Creator. I knew there must be God.