By Teak McAfee | Special to the Herald

Lying under an old palm tree on the rectory lawn with Mrs. Waldrop, staring into the sky observing Mother Nature’s wonders, I look into the brilliant sun shaded by the palms. I wonder, “How can I not have realized this before? With so many palm trees on this island and one right in my backyard, how could I have not seen this?”

A light wind rolls past my face and I hear the fronds rustle as Mrs. Waldrop explains: the palm tree symbolizes how one can be stable even if one is very busy. One’s faith in God helps one to be centered even though he or she may be overwhelmed. I then saw how the palm could show this. I understood how the trunk made the tree stable and how the fronds resemble many different parts. I understood that God leaves clues for what we don’t understand.

I look at the sun again and feel its warmth on the grass. I imagine how the sun is much like the palm tree and why we cannot explore it very much. I feel like it may be a clue. Then I feel like I’ve been transformed. I have fresh, new eyes that can see things in the palm tree that I have never seen before.

I look at the rings around the palm tree’s trunk and tell Mrs. Waldrop that I think they might resemble all the sins we commit in our lives but that God still forgives us. The coarse layer of the trunk on my hands reminds me of how imperfect we are. With the smell of grass lingering in the air, and with my new eyes, I set off to find more clues God has left for us.

Teak McAfee is a sixth grader at Sacred Hearts School in Lahaina. Her essay was submitted by Father Gary Colton, pastor of Maria Lanakila Church and Sacred Hearts School.