温馨夜读II PART1 3.The Blessing Tree（在线收听）

[00:00.76]3.The Blessing Tree

[00:05.77]I had gone into a supervisor’s office to talk about a couple of issues that needed to be addressed. 

[00:12.08]She, like all of the men and women in her department, had been through the proverbial “ringer.” 

[00:18.40]The stress was so intense, one could almost taste it.

[00:22.43]I had been assisting the department during a crunch period of being very short-handed, 

[00:28.09]and was watching everyone get close to burn-out. 

[00:31.03]When I inquired about her state of mind, she confessed that her home life was almost non-existant, 

[00:37.39]because she was “zombieing through the evening”. 

[00:40.44]The next words out of her mouth expressed a frustration of my own: 

[00:45.07]“This work is not my gift from God. My family is!”

[00:49.20]I had heard of hanging all of one’s problems from the office on a “Trouble Tree” while driving home, 

[00:55.74]to be picked up on the way back to the office in the morning, 

[00:59.01]and for a brief second thought about suggesting that scenario.

[01:03.36]But what came out was: “Why don’t we do something different? 

[01:07.39]Let’s have a Blessing Tree. 

[01:09.82]On the way home in the evening, 

[01:11.99]we could pull down a blessing to dwell on a character trait we adore in our spouse, 

[01:16.68]a particular reason we love them, the love they or our children have for us. 

[01:21.90]The list could be endless.”

[01:23.76]When I tried it on the way home that night, the stress seemed to melt away. 

[01:28.57]There was a “spring in my step” and when I arrived, 

[01:32.07]a smile of joy and contentment was bubbling up from within! 

[01:36.23]For the first time in 2 weeks, I was overjoyed to greet my wife and children!

[01:41.81]The Blessing Tree could make a major difference in your evenings, 

[01:45.97]especially after those REALLY tough days.