“For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak …” – Habakkuk 2:3
The Power of Vision
In his memoirs, Gregory Bateson, Dean of New College, Cambridge, U.K., wrote about the “Great Hall Dilmena.” New College which is part of Oxford University was started in the year 1379, and boasts some of the greatest displays of English Architecture of that period.
During his tenure, in the 1950’s, Bateson wrote about a student’s research of the buildings and facilities of the college, in which he discovered that the ceiling beams of “Great Hall,” built in 1600, were rotten from an infestation of beetles.
The student presented his findings to the engineering staff of the college, and concern arose, whether the building’s use should be discontinued because of the potential safety issues. As a result, the staff sought out how they would repair the hall, so that the building’s integrity would be preserved.
Because of the huge dimensions of these wooden beams (measuring over 2’X2’40’), consideration was given that steel beams could be easily ordered and speedily installed to replace the large rotting wooden beams. This idea however was quelled by the staff, with hopes of finding suitable wooden beams to replace the rotting ones, in the desire of preserving the original beauty of the architecture. Finding beams of these dimensions was not an easy task, and the team was initially unsuccessful in finding a lumber mill which could supply them with their needed wood.
An amazing turn took place in the plans to repair the Great Hall.
By seeming chance, a janitor was cleaning out some closet space in college storage. While sorting through papers and materials, the janitor discovered some of the original architectural drawings of the buildings and facilities at New College.
When the engineering staff studied these drawings they were amazed to see the architectural designs for the “Great Hall.” On these documents, the architects wrote specically about the beams of the Great Hall, mentioning their potential life of use, before needing replacement. The writing showed that the architects recognized the life of these beams to be about 300-350 years. This correlated with the present need, in which the beams were now in excess of 350 years old. To their further amazement, the New College engineers were stunned by the notes of the architects, which mentioned the replacement of the beams, stating that in order to prepare for the replacement of the beams, a grove of red oak saplings were being planted on the fringes of the campus of the New College grounds – and after 300 years, the mature and tall oaks would be ready to be harvested, and the trees milled into the proper sized replacement beams.
It was a stunning discovery, and discussions were made about these oaks, by students and faculty. All who walked under these trees, enjoyed their shade and beauty, but no one would have ever realized that these trees were planted with future vision and intentionality. These mighty oaks were the planting of visionary minds, seeing hundreds of years in the future, caring about the future, and passionate to see their legacy live on.
Two Compelling Challenges:
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Your life was given by God with His intentions and purposes for a destiny to be fulfilled in you. You are not a mistake or a chance happening. (Read: Jeremiah 29:11; Psalm 139).
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The vision in your heart and life has the power to live longer than your days on earth. A life of dedication to the vision God gives you can inspire future and succeeding generations.
Charles Curtis, International Missions Project
