I learned when I was young that you can tell how old a tree is by counting its rings. I thought that was a neat concept until I tried to count a tree. I’m glad there are people who really do count those rings and tell the age. 

But I think the lines on the trees could stand for our memories, as well. Moving from the center, our memories of childhood and experiences of joys and stresses; moving outward toward our teens and early twenties with the challenges of becoming adults; to even later years.

What about the lines of our faith? If you look at those lines on a tree, notice how they are not exactly straight or even in a perfect circle. Faith doesn’t always keep on the same path, either. But there is always the same center — God.