In the book Holes by Louis Sachar there is a rhyme that is said by Elya Yelnats as he walks up the mountain every day. Elya is getting stronger as he says 

“If only, if only,” the woodpecker sighs,

        “The bark on the tree was as soft as the skies.”

     While the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely,

Crying to the moo-oo-oon,

“If only, if only.”

This book was turned into a movie later. We saw it as an extended family years ago in the theater with popcorn, of course, and lemonade with more treats to go with the fun. 

Our family thought this movie was fun, full of hilarious boys who were digging holes while throwing dirt around with music added at regular intervals to dance in your seat all along the way!  The rhyme was changed slightly in the movie yet was still about that woodpecker and wishes for soft wood. 

Woodpeckers are known to make holes in trees. That is what they do.  That is what they are made to do.  

I started to have this rhyme go through my head at times when things were getting rough and bumpy in our life. Like wood on the tree that the woodpecker pecks on to make their holes. Why is wood hard? Think of all the different types of wood. Oak, cherry, maple, redwood, ironwood, and pine.  

It felt at times that the wood and tough times we were up against was the hardest wood Ever!  It would be so very nice if the difficult moments were more like those soft fluffy skies! If only, is right! 

When we moved into this home we built a new pergola with sturdy posts and top cross beams. We planted trees around the pergola to create a shady area in the hottest part of our south yard.  Then the birds came.  Finches, blue jays, doves, sparrows and then the woodpecker. 

One day we heard the rhythmic pecking of the woodpecker.  As I looked out the back door, I saw the woodpecker sitting on the side of the pergola doing what it is made to do. Making a hole in our new structure.  Right in the post that is meant to provide strength to our pergola! 

This rhyme came to my head and I realized something. 

The wood doesn’t get softer. The woodpecker finds its strong. 

It uses the beak to get through that wood to make what it is supposed to make. A birdhouse! This time it happened to be in our pergola.  This year I saw a new bird use this hole for their nest and heard small chirps coming from it. How awesome is that?  The birds were helping birds and new tiny birds were soon to appear.

The questions that came to my mind next were some that may come to you.

What if the hard times that have come to us, that felt like the toughest wood imaginable, have made us stronger?  What if I have become like  Elya, stronger as I walk up the mountain?

I am not sure about that answer… yet. I think about soft skies while I build strength as I remember this rhyme that rolls through my head. What if I really do want the soft skies and an easy day? And yet, what if the strength I have built is here for a reason? 

These are a few “what ifs” that I am going to think about a while longer.  Who would like to join me, my friends?  Let’s think about getting stronger together.