Tale of a Tree

Tuesday morning I woke up to the howls of strong, blizzard winds truly sweeping down the plain.  As I made my coffee, I simply stared out the window watching the snow in its complete chaos.  And then, this furry ball of brown scampered across the golf course looking from side to side as if to say, "Where is my refuge from this storm?"
He found it.  The big, more like enormous, tree that has been around at least a hundred years and has clearly housed many animals from the storms - the large holes prove it.
Today, the storm has passed leaving behind a blanket of white.  The small squirrel emerged from his hiding place in the tree.  As he climbed out of the hole, he looked right to left as he proceeded farther from the tree. He looked back.  Almost as if he wanted to say, "thank you."  The tree obviously remained unmoved by the experience, as if it was created solely for the purpose of being a refuge.
Watching all this I couldn't help but remember the tree when it was absolutely stunning.  When we first met this tree it towered over even the largest of homes.  It's foliage was like an eagle sprawled for a landing.  It was beautifully memorable.
But since that day, the tree has been through its own storms.  An ice storm that caused large branches to fall violently to the ground, one by one.  A Spring storm that ripped the leaves and small branches right off of the trunk.
The tree doesn't care.  The tree was designed to be a refuge, irrespective of how beautiful it was, the squirrel found a refuge.  The squirrel survived the blizzard.  The tree will probably do it again for one of the squirrel's children.
Purpose is not always packaged as beautiful, nevertheless, it is always a refuge.