The Heart of The Wood
The Heart of The Wood, written by Daniel Joseph Ii Demay and Tony Villanueva, is not a hymn, but a song I heard the other night about a young girl remembering her Great Grandpa. It is sung by Joey and Rory Feek who were a husband and wife American country music duo until her death from cancer in 2016. She was a christian with a very strong faith, which helped her and others thru her illness knowing it was terminal. I was fascinated with the song for two reasons. First I love wood working and have made things from trees I have cut down myself, from the cutting down to the finished product. There are trees all around us and are often taken for granted not realizing there importance to our environment. Second, I have a 4 year old Great Grandson who is with us all day, six days a week. He's almost always by my side asking for a job to do and often says “I'm going to follow you where ever you go” He also loves plants and already knows a few, and always wants to plant something. Also while on deliveries with me I'm always teaching him new words, telling him stories and often mentioning Gods creation of every thing. I just hope I'll be around long enough for him to remember me in his older years. I was also particularly touched by the last verse of the song.
“The Heart of The Wood” I think what made granddaddy great is that he didn't work all day
I'd love the time we spent and I'd go everywhere he went
We'd end up on some old deer trail
And I'd listen hard as he would spin his tales
We were in a field of stumps he said I got a new one for you hon
These trees once stood tall and I'm the man that made them fall
I cut 'em up, sanded them down
And you wouldn't believe what I found
'Cause past the bark and all the scars
Our home was in the heart of those old trees
God bless who sowed those seeds
A hundred years and they just grew
And only heaven knew just what they'd mean, to our family
All that time to become what they should
You know our home was in the heart of the wood
He smiled, said there's my favorite one, pointed at a cherry stump
He said I couldn't afford the one at Sears so the good lord planted one right here
He carved out what he saw within and he gave it to my dad when he turned ten
Past the bark and all the scars
There was a guitar in the heart of that old tree
All from just one seed
A hundred years and it just grew
And only heaven knew just what it'd be
And how that tree could sing
All the time to become what it should
There were songs in the heart of the wood
He said we can mark a tree to keep from getting lost
And it'll always point our way home like that old rugged cross
A hundred years and it just grew and only heaven knew just what it'd be
And who'd hang on that tree it held the Son of God like it should
But I know it broke the heart of the wood
I think what made granddaddy great was that he didn't work all day
I'd love the time we spent and
I'd go everywhere that old man went "Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the LORD, because he cometh to judge the earth." 1 Chronicles 16:33
“Even the cypress trees rejoice over you, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying,
‘Since you were laid low, no tree cutter comes up against us.’ " Isaiah 14:8