Trees are amazing. They provide shade in the heat, wood for our homes, fruit for food. A few times I have felt the Lord using trees to teach me, God put some special lessons in trees.
An evergreen tree's resin has a wonderful smell but is very sticky. Recently on an herb walk, I learned that evergreen resin is also very healing. It was anciently used for healing wounds, and herbalists still collect the resin to make healing salves.
When a tree's limb or branch is broken off, the wound causes the tree to reach down to its roots to draw on the healing properties deep inside it. Whether the broken limb or insect boring a hole into the tree, the wound brings forth the healing properties from the depths of the tree's roots. That made me think about wounds in trees and in people.
At times you or I might feel like the tree that loses a limb and mourn for a loss in our life, or an unexpected trial. For many of us, this year has been so hard- we miss the simpler times. Our challenge might feel like we've lost a limb, a vital part of us that we depended on is gone- a relationship, a job, health. It may feel like our trial doesn't make sense, and seem impossible for the trial to be turned into anything good. The difficult things in our lives make us reach deeper to our roots for healing, for Jesus, our Master Healer, the Balm of Gilead. We find Him there- waiting for us, in the hurting and the praying. The trial becomes part of our healing if it brings us to know the Lord better.
A while back I was diagnosed with diabetes. Thinking diabetes would be lifelong, I felt terrible about it. I asked the Lord why I got diabetes, I had been trying to be healthy. He told me that he wanted more time to walk with me. What?! That was amazing to me. Why would He want to walk with me? Doesn't he hear me yelling at my kids, complaining about unimportant things, and know what a mess I can be? He knows I need Him. That is why he walks with me and you, even if we aren't worthy of Him. I began walking more and asking the Lord to walk with me. Spending more time talking to the Lord has brought so much more peace into my life. Jesus helps me straighten out the messes I get myself into regularly. Thankfully my brothers who work in healthcare helped me with diet and exercise tips and I no longer have diabetes. I never knew it was reversible, but it is, thank the Lord! I realized how much I need Jesus to be part of my life, to give me guidance and peace.
After learning about how amazing tree resin is, I noticed more carefully what the trees do when they lose a branch. We walked through an aspen grove with my kids. Aspen trees have white, chalky bark that is smooth like paper. When branches are broken off of the aspen, the aspen tree heals its wound. The shape that is left on the aspen's bark where a limb was broken is an eye.
The Lord showed me that where there is a loss, is the opportunity for eyes to see more clearly. To see more of the Lord's hand and design for growth. To reach upwards more than before. Our trials make us see God moving in our lives. In the trials we see that He has been there all the time.
We are so dependent on Him for everything, but we don't realize it until we are brought to our knees. His love and sustenance is lent to us, it is in every breath, in every heartbeat. His love is what sustains us and keeps us alive from minute to minute. We don't see Him sustaining us because we mistakenly rely on other more tangible things. When the tangible, physical thing we rely on are taken away we can see that our support and everything we have comes from the Lord, He has been sustaining us our whole life. Jesus alone stands unchanging, firm, always there for you and me. We see Him better when we are stumbling to get through a challenge. The trials also give us appreciation and compassion for what many others have gone through. I had not felt so keenly my dependence on God until trials let me see where my help comes from- it is all from God. None of it is of my own making.
Returning to the aspen tree, once I asked the Lord why it was called a quaking aspen. The aspen leaves shake and quiver with the slightest breeze, always rustling and moving. I asked, "Why does it quake? Is it afraid?" The Lord answered me, "Why don't you ask the tree?" I had never thought of asking a tree and actually receiving an answer, but I asked. "Why are you quaking?" The tree answered, "Joy! Joy for the coming blessings, for the coming of the Lord!" It made me want to be less fearful of what the future holds and more joyful and trusting in the Lord.
Another time on a walk, I was feeling like I was on the outside. Trials can sometimes leave you feeling like you are not part of some circles anymore. What you worry about is suddenly very different from what other people are worried about and talk about. Surely the devil fully exploits this to make us feel divided, alienated, and alone. Everyone has challenges and worries, they are just different ones. Our enemy is not each other, but the devil. This day on a walk, I was wondering if I was on the outside of God's favor, or love, just as I felt on the outside in some circles. I asked the Lord if this was true. He told me to look at an oak tree that I was walking past. He asked me where the acorns were on the branches.
Looking at the branches, I could see that the oak tree holds the acorns close, in the center of the branches. He told me that is how He feels about me. For Him, we are the center of his thoughts, his work and his creation. We are His seed. We have his full attention and love. We are not on the outside, we are in the very center. Then he had me look at a sunflower and notice where the seeds are.
The sunflower's seeds are in the center, similar to most flowers and fruits. The Lord's children are always at the center of his love, his attention, and care. The Lord's creations tell us of his love for us. His love surrounds us. His love is deep within our roots, and we are never far from His love.
I listened to a speaker talk (link) about Psalm 23- it is the Psalm that starts with "The Lord is my Shepherd". He talked about the phrase "He prepares a table for me in the presence of my enemies."
The Lord doesn't always remove us from our enemies, as much as we pray for the challenges to be removed far from us. Often the Lord walks with us through them, giving us what we need for the moment, reminding us of his love, instead of taking away the trial immediately. In the presence of our enemies, a table is prepared for us by our Lord. Wow, Jesus, our Shepherd, prepares a table for us, in the presence of our enemies. What amount of thanks would be enough?
