Oak Reach: When the Oaks Speak to a Memory
By Lisa Loucks-Christenson, MMJ, Publisher
Faith & Devotionals column for the Rochester Sun Times News
Published Sunday, April 12, 2026, at 3:59 a.m. CDT
Isaiah 55:12
“For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”
Last night, as the sun slipped into its final hour over the oak savanna, I stood in the sanctuary I named for my sister, Laurie — The Laurie (Loucks) Burt Wildlife Sanctuary. A robin sounded the warning of a Cooper’s Hawk nearby, though the hawk itself never came into frame. Then the wind shifted, thunder moved in and out, lightning flashed across the sky, and rain fell around me in waves.
It was a beautiful and bittersweet evening.
I filmed that last hour of sunlight on Saturday, April 11, 2026, knowing the day would carry a private Easter memory tied to April 11, 2011, when my family — including my grandparents, brothers, sisters, nephews, and nieces — gathered for what we did not know would be our last time together on this earth, with loved ones already in heaven looking down on us. Just four months later, my sister would be called home to be with the Lord. Though Easter was celebrated last Sunday, April 5, this date has always held a deeper meaning in my heart.
As I walked the woods, I found myself listening to the trees. They creaked and moaned in the wind, and I felt as though they were speaking back, bending low to comfort me. In that moment, I was not focused on loss. I was surrounded by beauty, by prayer, by the living sanctuary God entrusted to our family.
I gathered two rocks to carry with me, simple keepsakes from a day that asked me to remember, to trust, and to keep going. The bloodroot I found in these woods long ago had already felt like a sign. Last night felt like one too.
The real Hallowink Hollow appears in the film as well, a place that has inspired more than 25 books and more still to come. That landscape, like the oak savanna itself, continues to tell its own story through wind, weather, wildlife, and memory.
This is the heart of Oak Savanna Winds: Willow Pond. It is not only about what is seen on camera, but what is sensed in spirit. It is about the mystery of creation, the comfort of birds and trees, and the way nature can hold us when words fall short.
Instead of seeing the loss, I saw beauty. Instead of silence, I heard grace.
Death is not the final tomb. Jesus showed us that when He rose again. So on this Sunday, and every day, may you be blessed with peace, renewal, and the courage to keep believing.
God bless you all.
Lisa Loucks-Christenson, MMJ, Publisher
Links:
TheAllieInstitute.org and LisaLC.org
OakSavannaWinds #WillowPond #LISALC.ORG #TheAllieInstitute #Conservation #NatureCalls #NaturesTalkingTrees #RochesterMnNature #EasterReflections #FaithInNature
About the Author
Lisa Loucks-Christenson has spent more than two decades exploring angelic and supernatural encounters through recorded interviews and firsthand testimony. She has documented over 70 accounts from people who believed they encountered angels, messengers, communicators, and animals. Ordained in 2013, she continues theological study alongside advanced journalism, legal, policing, wildlife behavior, science, and conservation coursework, with a Th.D. as a long-term goal.