The Silver Dollar Tree
Madison Elementary School was just across the street and through a field from our home. I was just 6-years-old and in a combined 1st & 2nd Grade class. Mrs. Wadlow was one of those teachers a child idolizes and never forgets. I still have the broken china horse and buggy she let me pick out from her gifts for students one year. The last time I corresponded with Mrs. Wadlow was right before my mission. I sent her a letter telling of my mission call; she sent a congratulations letter. When I returned from my mission I sent her a letter only to have it returned. I suspect she had passed away. Every day in Mrs. Wadlow’s class was enjoyable. After school I’d saunter through the field on my way home, often stepping off the path to pick up a horney-toad or examine a lone flower growing in the dry field of dirt. One day on my way home I took in the beauty of a young tree. The leaves seemed to shimmer as the breeze passed by and I found myself wanting to look at the tree forever. Although just a little tree, I knew it was way too big for me to dig it up and take home. So I determined to grow one of my own. 
Plucking a leaf from this magical looking tree I hurried home to share the good news with my mother. I told her I really, really wanted my own sparkling tree, and asked for a little plot of dirt in our yard to plant it. Mom took me out to the breezeway, handed me a spoon and showed me where to dig. Years later I asked my mom why she didn’t tell me that you can’t grow a tree from a leaf. Her response: “Who am I to say what can and can’t happen with enough faith?” I prayed over that little leaf every day, knowing that it is Heavenly Father who created the leaf, and He would create my new tree. I remember taking a cup of water to the breezeway each day before school to water my leaf. Each day after school, I’d zip home to check on my tree. Every prayer I said included a request for blessings on my tree. One day I was rewarded. A sprout was shooting up right where I had been watering each day. Excitedly, I called to Mom as I ran into the house. My tree was finally growing! I would have my own tree that would glisten in the breezeway! My tree became my project. Daily I’d water the little seedling. Weeks passed, then months. Finally one day the plant started to get leaves of its own. Much to my mother’s amazement, this little plant really was a silver dollar tree! My leaf was now a tree. Now, more than 40 years later, I sit at the computer reading up on silver dollar trees. While searching the internet for “how to propagate a silver dollar tree” it’s clear that one must have a root-cutting for a new tree to grow. I suspect my mother already knew that you must start with a rooted plant … but because of her wisdom and her nurturing spirit, she not only provided the spoon and the plot, but she provided the encouragement and support necessary for a young girl’s faith to be exercised and grown.
