Enter your keyword

Good Timber Printable

something i don't tell a lot of people, is that i was homeschooled. not completely, but off and on over the years. i absolutely loved it, and it's something i admire about my mom. i have 5 younger siblings, and while she didn't do it with every one of us, i'm glad she did it with me (i think i needed the extra kick in the rear from her at home!haha). every few weeks she'd bring out a few giant books filled with poetry, and make us pick out a new poem to memorize. one of my favorites was this:


and here's the poem in it's entirety:

Good Timber
by Douglas Malloch

The tree that never had to fight

For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,

Never became a forest king

But lived and died a scrubby thing.
The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,

Who never had to win his share

Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.

Good timber does not grow with ease:

The stronger wind, the stronger trees;
The further sky, the greater length;
The more the storm, the more the strength.

By sun and cold, by rain and snow,

In trees and men good timbers grow.
Where thickest lies the forest growth,
We find the patriarchs of both.

And they hold counsel with the stars

Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life.

this poem always reminds me that the trials i have right now are but a moment, and that i am given them for a reason. they come and go to help me grow stronger, learn something i didn't understand before, and help those around me...even if i don't know they are. when Ashley (the Sullengers) told me this was the quote she wanted a design for, i was so happy to help! here's what i came up with:


you can head over to Ashley's blog HERE to grab this printable (i made lots of sizes and one other variation of it)! And speaking of touching other people's lives through trials - every time i read Ashley's blog i come away feeling inspired and filled with a desire to be a better mother, live in the present, and hold my babies a little tighter.


*did your mom make you memorize poems growing up?

*do you have a favorite poem? what is it?

No comments