When I look at the news, it is very discouraging, but in nature, hope is everywhere. Hope is in the waves of yellow flowers that blanket the hillsides from early spring to late fall. Yellow means hope and joy. Maybe the Lord knows we need many reminders to be hopeful and joyful, so he blankets the hillsides many times each year with yellow flowers.
 |
| Early spring flowers- arrowleaf balsam root flowers with snowy mountain in background |
 |
| Dandelion |
Spring flowers teach us to draw strength from our roots, they are nourishing and help us wake up and get things moving (dandelion, arrowleaf balsam root).
 |
Late spring flowers on hillside
|
Fall flowers teach us to find healing and rest in letting go, releasing what is stagnant or excessive in us (golden rod, gum weed).
 |
| Gumweed, a wonderful medicinal plant |
Sunflowers remind me that God feeds his little birds even in winter. The seeds in the sunflowers stand tall in snowstorms, the seeds are food for birds. Sunflowers tell us that God provides for his creations, we can trust his care in the storms of our lives.
 |
| Late summer sunflowers and mountains |
When I look at nature, it reminds me we have a wonderful God that thinks of every detail. We can trust in his care. He deserves our trust and love 100%. There is nothing he does not notice, he is our Creator and Savior.
How does the Lord speak to you? What is it that stirs your heart to think of the greatness of the Lord and his promises? For some, it might be music, gardening, yoga or running. I listened to a young woman speak about finding God in competitive boxing. I suspect that where we find God is as diverse as we are as people. For me it is being outside in nature. I walk outside when I am frustrated, can't make sense of something, or just need some fresh air and to connect with our Creator. I often need the better perspective that being in nature offers.
I want to tell you about a nectarine tree that we started from a seed, from a fruit we bought at the grocery store, because in some ways I am like the tree. The original nectarine had a floral sweetness, with white flesh and red skin. Our tree has grown from seedling to a mature tree. Despite being very large, our tree will only produce 4-5 fruits that are quite marked with scars. It seems to be plagued by many pests and diseases. Seeing how often we water it and take care of it, it should be producing more. Much smaller trees will give us many gallons of fruit. We had one good harvest many years ago- it was awesome. We have been working towards another good harvest for years.
We have tried all the natural remedies. We fertilize it in the fall and spring, and deep water it all summer. Every spring we prune it. My dad helped me to spray it and get some of the pests that bother it under control, but it still grew hardly any fruit last year. This spring, standing next to the tree I asked the Lord if we should cut it down. The Lord told me this tree needs more frequent pruning, not the once-a-year spring pruning of the other fruit trees. It sends all of its energy to branches that shoot straight up and don't produce fruit, those need to be cut down more often. It's probably competing with the neighboring trees to be a shade tree instead of a fruit tree. As I was pruning this tree for probably 10th time this season, I wondered if I was done pruning. I heard the nectarine tree tell me "Yes, you're done! That's enough pruning!" It still had many, many fruitless branches shooting straight up all over. I felt bad to break off so many of the shooter branches. As I broke the shooters off the tree, I told it, "You are a fruit tree, not a shade tree. We want to enjoy your fruit, that is why you are planted here, not for shade. I don't want to lose you because you don't have any fruit." The pruned branches are collected and thrown away or saved for a campfire. This year the tree has given us more fruit, and we have loved the fruit, although it is still heavily scarred. We will keep working with the tree for a better harvest.
The Lord told me that I am like this tree, he has to remind me often to put my energy toward the fruit, not the leafy but barren branches. What is the fruit that the Lord wants from me? What is the fruit that the Lord wants most from you? Coming to know the Lord and having a close personal relationship with him is the fruit. Coming to taste and know the sweetness of his love. Sharing his love with my husband and children first and then family and friends is also part of the fruit harvest.
Sometimes it is hard to be the pruned tree, to see branches broken off. If you ask the Lord to show you where you need to change and where you are wrong, he will! One time I was feeling discouraged about some challenges as I was walking. It was a cloudy day, but on a hillside not too far away, I saw the sunlight fall on some peach trees that were blooming with pink flowers. The Lord told me he loves peach trees because they are willing to be pruned.
When God's plans are different than our own, it can be sobering and humbling. It reminds us that we are always in his hands, the clay that needs molding. I told the Lord that being pruned and shown my weaknesses hurts. He told me that everything he does is out of love for us. I can trust in his care and be at peace in him.
It is easy to trust in the Lord when everything is going well in our lives. How is our trust in Him when our comfortable, predictable lives are turned upside down? I think about the Christians in Afghanistan, would I have faith in the Lord if it endangered my life or my family? Having the kind of relationship with God that you trust him in every situation, and you find peace in his love is the goal. He is our comfort, our fortress, our hiding place. There can be hope and peace even in dark times.
 |
| Sunset with yellow flowers, trees and mountains |
What are we to hope in? Our hope is in Christ. Our faith and hope is that Christ will take us by the hand and lead us through whatever challenges lie ahead. The scriptures tell us that more turmoil lies ahead before the coming of the Lord, but we can be at peace in him and his individual care for us.
The followers of Jesus that watched him be arrested, scourged, beaten, nailed to a tree and crucified must have felt like their hope had vanished. In the cruel agony of those moments, they didn't realize they had witnessed the most sublime act of love ever. Our Creator and God gave his life willingly for us, not saving his own life, though he had saved others. In the cruel cross was the triumph of Jesus' love and spirit over flesh, the greatest victory earth has known. In the willing gift of his life and blood was birthed hope and new life for us. The moment of earth's greatest loss and pain became the moment of love's greatest victory, Jesus overcame it all. This was followed by his resurrection, where death for all of us was overcome by Jesus. In Jesus and his victory is our hope.
Moments that to us may feel hopeless and cruel may actually be birthing something greater than we can see in the moment. Surely our faith in the Lord and his return will not be unchallenged or untried. But God is still here for us, he does not lie. His promises are sure. He will uphold those who love him.
What scriptures give you hope? What in nature gives you hope? I would love to hear!
Last year I compiled a list of scriptures with pictures for homeschool handwriting practice. What comfort is found in God's words and promises!
"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken . . . " Isaiah 54:10
"Mightier than the waves of the sea is his love for you." Psalm 93:4
"Depend on the Lord; trust him, and he will take care of you." Psalm 37:5
"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1
"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for what He has done . . . Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worth of praise." Philippians 4: 6-8
"Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from Him." Psalm 62:1
"The Lord himself will go ahead of you. He will be with you. He will never leave you. He'll never desert you. So don't be afraid. Don't lose hope." Deuteronomy 31:8
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13
"The battle is not ours, but God's." 2 Chronicles 20:15
"Lord you made the heavens and the earth with your great power, there is nothing too hard for you." Jeremiah 32:17
"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He doesn't faint or grow weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak and increases the strength of him who has no might." Isaiah 40:28-29
"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love him." I Corinthians 2:9
"What does the Lord require of you, but to act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8
"When you pass through the waters I will be with you." Isaiah 43:2
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
"For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." Romans 8:24-25
"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness." 2 Peter 1:3
"I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Philippians 3:8
"Don't let your heart be troubled you believe in God believe also in me." John 14:1
"You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10
"Lord, renew my energy when I feel tired and weak." Psalm 103:5
"Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God." Psalms 42:11
"Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act." Psalm 37:7
"For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20
"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways." 2 Thessalonians 3:16
"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23
"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He counts the number of the stars: he calls them all by name." Psalm 147:3-4
"Draw close to God, and he will draw close to you." James 4:8
"Look at the birds of the air that they do not sow, neither do they reap nor gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they:" Matthew 6:26
"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ forgave you." Ephesians 4:32
"He will cover you with his feathers and under his wings you will find refuge." Psalm 91:4
"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty." Psalm 91:1
"Behold I have engraved you on the palms of my hands." Isaiah 49:16
"Now may the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13
"Behold God is my salvation. I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation." Isaiah 12:2
"I love the Lord, because he listens to my voice, and my cries for mercy. Because he has turned his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live." Psalm 116:1-2
