Young Rebecca marched purposefully into my kitchen, hands on her
little hips, judgment in her blue,blue eyes. When she had my full
attention she said ,
"Granny, what does fortitude mean?" For a second I was at a
disadvantage, not knowing what had prompted my precious granddaughter's
demand to know the meaning of a word that she didn't understand. Then I
knew.
I explained simply that fortitude is that special
strength that just will not give up but just hangs on and keeps hanging
on and endures. "Oh. I just wanted to know. Granddaddy is out there
calling that tree Fortitude." And with a whirl, she was out the
door,and away to rejoin her brother Joshua and Granddaddy in the yard,
satisfied her Granddaddy had not used a bad word, and was not in danger
of having his mouth washed out with soap.
When we bought our mountain home it needed lots of improvement,
particularly in the yard of which there was practically none. We had to
have a bulldozer grade away
part of the mountain itself to make room for cars to park. (We could
stand against the house and touch the mountain). Built for a vacation
home by a family from Florida, it was not exactly ready for permanent
year-round occupancy . The first spring we lived here, a tiny ,
scraggly eight or ten inch twig of a cedar tree appeared. I cannot
tell how how many times that little cedar sprout got squshed,
squashed,smashed, stepped on, cut down, run over, dried up in summer
heat, frozen in winter., anything and everything that could happen to a
young tree did happen.
But it kept coming back. And coming back. And coming back AND
GROWING. As years passed that little stubborn sprout grew waist high,
shoulder high, higher than a man could stretch up his arms. People would
say,"Why
don't you cut down that tree? It's just a little old scrubby cedar." My
husband started calling the little determined - to- live tree
"FORTITUDE." And soon we all were calling the tree by a name, just as we
would a person or a pet animal. It became a symbol of spirit..the
spirit
of strength, endurance, An unconquerable, undefeatable, indomitable
spirit.
Fortitude is now a huge , handsome cedar, taller than our house,
perfectly shaped. Several years ago we were paving our driveway and
parking area and the workmen were laying out the pattern. They were
ready to cut down Fortitude when my husband stopped them. "You can't cut
that tree." then they tried to explain why it would be easier to get the
equipment in, etc., etc. . Clyde planted his feet, folded his arms and
told them."I don't care what you have to do, you are not going to cut
down Fortitude."
(at this,the men looked askance at each other a bit like little Rebecca
had looked many years before) My husband then told the men how the
little tree had struggled to live, concluding with, "Anything that is
that determined to live deserves the right to live." Today, Fortitude
stands proudly with a wide curve of pavement around it's feet . Birds
make nests in it's branches, take shelter in winter's bitter weather,
and summer's sweltering heat. Squirrels play in and under it's wide
ruffled skirt, and at Christmas, hundreds of tiny bright lights sparkle
and twinkle and shine like fallen stars or a zillion fireflies nestling
in it's branches. A winter's snow and Fortitude becomes breathtakingly
beautiful in white glistening glory.
To us, Fortitude is a living symbol . An encouraging symbol. A
challenging symbol.
To me, Fortitude is the living symbol of my husband's strong,
indomitable, persevering,
overcoming spirit. Today is Father's Day, and
this is my loving tribute to the Father of my children, Mark and Debbie,
and my husband of
nearly fifty-three years. I have watched him endure and conquer things
that a lesser man would have succumbed to long before. He has
had and overcome heart attacks, five-bypass heart surgery twice, a
stroke, prostate cancer, and severe asthma. He has known heartaches and
heartbreak , disappointments and set- backs. He has faithfully followed
wherever God
led and listened and obeyed whenever He called . He has laid aside
personal goals but set is eyes on the crown incorruptible the Lord Jesus
will present him with one day with the words, "Well done, thou good and
faithful servant." And I know what my husband will do. He will
reverently place his crown (at last one crown, probably more) at the
nail-scarred feet of Jesus and say "I did the best I could because I
love you, Jesus. All honor belongs to You, my Lord and my King."
I looked up a definition of fortitude." An inner strength that
enables one to encounter danger or bear pain or endure adversity with
courage."
Another read, "Something inside a person that makes him different from
the run of the mill."
A tree called Fortitude. A man who could also be called Fortitude. A
man called Clyde Martin.
A man of fortitude who is my husband. A man I love.
