Overview for Of the Oaks

Prologue: Oak Grove Plantation, Thibodaux, Louisiana, 1965

In a recurring dream of a medieval king waging a war of good versus evil, Paul awakens to haunting memories. With sunlight filtering through the drawn drapes of his bedroom at Oak Grove Plantation, the sobriety of another funeral anchors Paul into the ache of all those loved ones who have passed. The evil winds of Hurricane Betsy rage in his mind, much like the earthly hurt he feels for living through such calamity. With the passing of his grandparents, Paul once more roils in the disconnection of earthly versus spiritual love. It is as written by the great Henri Nowen when he said that the spiritual life does not remove us from the human condition but more deeply immerses us into it. This is, in fact, Paul’s discovery. For all that he has seen, heard, and even experienced, his time on earth remains filled with love, hate, kindness, despair, hope, and all those things wonderfully associated with being human, and being alive. So, he lives through yet one more passing of loved ones—against the backdrop of the sluggish and murky waters of Bayou Lafourche, faith-filled family and friends, and towering Spanish Moss-covered oaks—twisted and mangled from nature’s fury and years of witness to lives passed. It is as stated by the Psalmist, “The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests, and in his temple all say, ‘Glory!’” (Psalm 29:9).

Story: Louisiana, Ukraine, Louisiana, Spain, Italy, South Africa, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Louisiana, New York, and Louisiana, July 1998-October 2001

Sitting under the root-raised “Evangeline Oak” in St. Martinsville, Louisiana, Paul recounts the loss of his grandparents. With newspaper in hand, reporting of building violence in the Middle East, and the writings of Longfellow’s Evangeline in the other, a comparison and contrast are made to past and present—man’s inhumanity to man continuing now as it did then. Paul raises the question, “Will we ever learn?” And in that question the new story builds.

While crossing the Ukrainian border by train, Paul recounts his last visit to the ancient City of L’viv to Dr. Thad Newchurch (Paul’s research assistant). Yet, as he tells the story, new premonitions—embroiled in past memories—haunt Paul. Where he can see, hear, and even feel the terror of things to come, he cannot determine when and where. No warning can he offer to those in the path of destruction.

Despair challenges Paul’s faith as new clues to his family’s past fall into place. But, faith suggests he should not despair, certainly in light of the heavenly apparitions he has witnessed—God’s presence on the earth. He struggles in discernment—the surrender
of his personal will to that of God’s. And in the process he experiences the act of faith required to surrender to Divine Will.

Paul reunites with Oleksa and Father Andrei (now ailing from age). Father Andrei places Paul on a journey of discovery—sending him to the town of Brody, where the family of his great, great-grandmother seven generations removed once resided. While in Brody, Paul witnesses hatred in action—the desecration of Jewish cemeteries now used as soccer fields. He meets a Rabbi, who leads Paul to a hidden sanctuary containing both Christian and Jewish artifacts. Paul discovers more clues and begins to learn of Kabbalah.

Paul then searches in vain for the meaning of an engraving—a sitting lion with cross-sabers protecting its heart, and lambs beneath its paws. Eventually he discovers links to the Book of Revelations (where the lion does lay down with the lamb)—and a secret society formed to that end. This deepens Paul’s confusion and raises the question, “Are we at the end of time as we know it?” In the midst of this, Paul is summonsed back to Oak Grove. The probate of the family estate has named him the rightful heir.

Paul is joyfully greeted by family and friends. The plantation buzzes with activity—the fall sugarcane harvest rapidly approaching. Family anecdotes, including the courtship of Paul’s mother (Renee) by his step-dad (Jacques), lighten the mood. Plus, Paul’s reunion with Anne warms the scene. Yet, amidst the joy, a growing storm approaches. The skies darken, as a raging frontal boundary looms upon Oak Grove, flattening the crop and anchoring Paul into memories of Hurricane Betsy. Paul is confronted by breaking news—a suit filed challenging his legitimacy to Oak Grove.

Crisis: Where the siege of Oak Grove by Degas St. Romain (the bastard son of Paul’s grandfather, Sam de la Moret) would appear to be the crisis, it is in fact nothing more than a reflection of how we sometimes place emphasis on earthly goods. This holds true for earthly love as well, as we see in the passing of Paul’s wife (Anne) and his unborn child in a fiery car crash from overzealous media. The loss of his newly found uncle (Degas) in the 9-11 bombings of the World Trade Centers (after just making peace with him) challenges Paul to “despise not the sinner, but the sin.” Paul must choose whether to go counter to the contemporary thinking of many. The real crisis is one of spiritual warfare—a battle of good versus evil that wages in his heart, mind, and soul—especially for one who has foreseen these things in dreams and visions, yet cannot piece together when and where these events are to happen. Where attack from an enemy warrants a call to arms from an earthly sense, Paul is called to live the response as stated by St. Luke 6:27-49, “To you who hear me, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you…” Where of spirit this may be easy, living this after being attacked while loosing things or persons he holds dear is as said, “Like passing a camel through the eye of a needle.” Paul must find “the faith of a mustard seed” through personal loss, while he questions if these events are in fact God’s will or simply the will of man.

Even though the words, “see, I will turn all things into good,” comfort Paul, he searches for answers. He is taunted by the passage, “Seek and you will find. Ask and you will receive. Knock and the door will open for you.” Wanting to end useless destruction by better undertstanding his visions, he searches the globe. His travels draw him into sacred texts—the Bible, the Holy Qu’ran, the Torah, and Kabbalah. Yet, Paul continues to encounter the question, “Who is it that you say that I am?” Through his Job-like experiences he discovers faith is a journey as well as a destination. In all, Paul’s journey leads him into a search within himself—realizing “the kingdom of God is within.”