Albert had an oak tree outside his cabin that his son, Albert Jr., who had died in his twenties, had insisted on saving when the house was built. For years Albert tried to steer the tree away from the house so that it would not damage it. For a while he was successful, but as the tree grew thicker and taller, he was no longer able to control it. It kept coming closer and closer to the house, and when the wind blew, the main trunk began to sway and strike at the vital structure of the house.

That oak tree had much sentimental value, so Albert resolved that he would steer it away from the house at whatever cost. But each time, after a few months, the tension lines came loose or snapped and broke. Nature was too determined, too forceful. There was nothing he could do to control the tree and pull it away from the house. Prospects for the future seemed even worse. Within a few years, at the rate it was growing, it would cause even more damage.

One day Albert made up his mind...the tree had to come down. As he cut its upper branches, then the lower ones and finally the trunk itself, it felt as if he was as if he was cutting his arms, legs and finally his own heart. He had cut the tree that Albert Jr. wanted so much to save. When the last section of the trunk fell to the ground Albert sat down and wept.

Decisions such as these are difficult. Yet decisions must be made, not based on what is evil and what is good, but on the basis of what is good and what is better.  Albert cut down the tree that his son loved. But, more important, he spared the house that he helped build and loved, too. When the day was over, he felt that it had been a good one. Though hurtful, he had made the right choice. Many of our decisions are painful because we are faced with choosing between what is good and what is better. Yet we must make them.