For Wilshire Baptist Church
Walking around the yard, checking on things as the heat increases and the chances of rain dry up, I noticed that one of the newish utility poles on the side of our corner lot has a round aluminum tag on it. Examining it closely, I found it was stamped with various abbreviations and numbers, including 10/24/19 and Lufkin, TX.
Most every summer of my childhood we’d drive down through the East Texas Piney Woods to my grandparents’ house. Our route took us past countless acres of tall pine trees, logging trucks and sawmills, and through the city of Lufkin. It may sound silly, but seeing Lufkin stamped on that pole made me wonder if the tree it started as might have been growing in the forest near Lufkin when I was passing through as a kid.
The answer is no. I did some research and discovered that a pine tree that becomes a utility pole is allowed to grow for up to 30 years before it is cut and prepared for service. That’s a long time, but if the pole was ready for service in 2019 as the date stamp seems to indicate, that means I was already at least 30 when that tree was planted.
But I’m still intrigued. I’ve learned that most utility poles are made from southern yellow pine, Douglas fir or western red cedar. If it’s from East Texas, then it’s a southern yellow pine. According to the North American Wood Poles Council website, “only 7 percent of the trees in a typical plantation will have the length, straightness, strength, taper and other characteristics necessary for a utility pole.” The rest will become “sawtimber.” The utility pole websites are a bit dismissive when they talk about uses for those trees other than as poles.
A lot of science has gone into increasing the percentage of trees that become poles, including developing genetically favorable seeds, and practicing optimal tree spacing, thinning and fertilization. And while there has been some work done on speeding things up, the trees still need decades to gain the length and diameter needed to support lines for electrical power, communications, cable and street lights.
Some things just take time — nature’s time and God’s time. But in “the fullness of time” as the scriptures say, they’ll become something good. A tree might become a utility pole, but it also might become lumber for framing houses, tongue-and-groove planks for flooring, cabinetry and furniture, paper and cardboard.
The same is true for you and me. We grow up and in time become something useful, something worthwhile, something good. There’s no cutting corners on that. It takes time and lessons learned through life events and experiences. It also takes nurturing from those older and wiser who have come before us.
I’m twice as old now as the tree that became a utility pole in my yard, and I’m still working on becoming strong and tall. With a little more time I might get there yet.