In the winter months during the pandemic, my family would go on hikes in our neighborhood just to get out of the house for some cool fresh air. On one of our local trips we wandered into a section of the woods filled with easily hundreds of evergreen trees. I recall my older daughter asking how come it was, that this particular species stayed unaffected by the chill winter weather while many of its surrounding trees were either withered or withering away.

As is often the case, the questions from these young gifts of mine lead me to discover new insights and perspectives.
And so on I went to read up on evergreen species. One of my discoveries is worth sharing:

Many evergreen species have what look like little green needles. The needles are, in fact, the leaves of the evergreen and it separates them from broad-leafed plants. Unlike trees with wide leaves, they can tolerate cold temperatures. Evergreens’ needles allow the tree to continue taking in sunlight and nutrients during the colder seasons.
This lesson from the evergreen species resonated deeply with me. I could just overhear a conversation between a gal and an evergreen tree on a hot summer day. I imagined it would go something like this:

The gal to the tree “what are these little green needles you have? Why aren’t you broad-leafed like other trees in the forest?”
The tree to the gal “Come check me out in the winter, you will see why I am different – those broad leafed beauties will be withering and I will be flourishing.”