I frequently need the Lord's help- trouble seems to be all around us, and it's hard keeping the trouble in the world from getting inside me. Walks are good times to talk to Jesus. He is generous to help me every time I come to Him all knotted up inside- which is often. Jesus is a Wonderful Counselor and Prince of Peace, it is true! Sometimes I try to speed up a bit as I walk, embarrassed that everyone is passing me. Then I hear the Lord tell me, "Slow down! You're going too fast!" There are answers to prayers in the slower moments, I need those moments of understanding. The Lord created meaning and beauty everywhere. We are literally swimming in a deep rich ocean of the Lord's creations. As we walk every day, you and I are passing stars and galaxies in miniature forms. Much of the time we are oblivious to the beauty the Lord created around us. Too hurried, too busy with our lists of things to do.
I watched a video about a gardener that made a beautiful garden and opened it up for the public to enjoy. He said that the best way to experience the garden was alone, and that it made him thankful to see people thoughtfully enjoying his garden.
A couple years ago, I was praying over a family trial, job loss. Thanks be to God, everything has worked out. Noticing how trees handle loss- a broken branch, made me think. I wrote about it a couple years ago here.
When pine trees lose branches, the wound causes the tree to reach down to its roots to draw on the healing properties deep inside it. It oozes medicinal pine sap, which heals its wound. Pine sap can be gathered, heated, and mixed with oil and beeswax to make a healing salve for wounds. The tree's wound brings forth healing properties from the depths of the tree's roots. 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. For some people, their challenge uniquely prepared them to understand and bless others in similar trials. They are kinder, more thankful, and more generous after having gone through a trial.
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When branches are broken off of the aspen, the aspen tree also heals its wound. The shape that is left in 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. 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. Unbelief is more easily peeled away from our eyes when we are praying for the Lord's help to survive a trial. We see with more faith. We see others with renewed appreciation for the trials they have gone through.
On a hike with my kids this summer, we noticed a maple tree with an irregular hole in it where a branch broke off the tree. There were other spots on the tree where the bark had completely grown over a broken limb, and the tree bark was already beginning to close this hole too. A rock was sticking out of this particular hole in the tree. I explained to the kids that eventually tree bark will cover up the hole, and that rock will be in the center of the wood. It will make a weakness in the tree, making it more vulnerable to break in wind storms, and die from bugs and disease. I looked up at the tree branches, some branches were already dead while others were alive. My son reached up and started trying to pull the rock out of the hole, it hadn't occurred to me to try. After a few minutes of struggle, we got it out. Behind it was another rock, then another. Close to 20 rocks had been stuffed in the tree- some pebbles, others the size of mandarin oranges. The hole reached the center of the tree, and it was packed with rocks. We were able to get most of the rocks out.
Like the tree, we too can have a hole in our heart, maybe from loss, or from being worn down and joy sapped from our life. It might be the trials loved ones are going through, or seeing the wicked state our world is in. The enemy of our spirit, the devil, can make these things become bitter, like a rock in our hearts. Sometimes it is many bitter rocks in our hearts, taking up a big part of our energy. The bitterness can make joy and the fruits of the Spirit hard to feel. The rocks in our hearts have to come out, the bitterness rejected and expulsed. Jesus is waiting for us to give him the burdens, we weren't intended to carry them all. If we ask, He can help us understand what happened, I wrote about an experience with that here. Jesus' love and forgiveness can heal the wounds in our hearts. He replaces the bitterness with his love. We can ask him to do that. "Lord, please take this bitterness out of my heart. In the hole that is left behind, please fill it with your light and love." He is the one who gives us healing, joy, and hope. Time and time again Jesus is willing to do that for us. What a wonderful friend we have in Jesus!
Wild olive trees along a trail have drawn my attention. Their branches were reaching out, wanting to interact with the people who passed it by. In the winter I first noticed the thorns on the wild olive branches. They were more visible because the leaves were gone. The thorns reminded me of Jesus' crown of thorns. For our sake, he was crowned king of the cursed, king of the sinners- me and you. In a grove of olive trees, he suffered for our sins. Crushed for our transgressions, like the olives are crushed to make oil. This spring for the first time I saw the yellow flowers that emerged with the olive tree's velvety sage-green leaves. The yellow flowers are in the shape of a cross. One of my kids said the flowers look like the star of Bethlehem. Yellow has always meant hope- which Jesus is to us. He is why we have hope. Jesus is the personification of love and forgiveness. At his core, Jesus is so purely love and selflessness, that he was able to conquer sin and death- our enemies. He gave his life for us! Because of Him we can be forgiven and forgive others. With His stripes we are healed! The wild olive tree testifies of Jesus!
In turning our hearts to Jesus, we begin to see that He has been caring for us even in the smallest details in our lives. In the spring I saw a tree with delicate tiny pink flowers and leaves that were so tiny, I couldn't see them until I used the zoom on my camera. Each flower is about the size of a chia seed. They were perfectly made miniature bouquets. I used an app to look it up and it is a tamarisk tree. 
Matthew and Luke record Jesus saying "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? . . . But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:28-30, 33. Other translations of that verse say, "Learn from the way the wild flowers grow." or "Think about how the flowers of the field grow." Matt 6:28. The plants have something to teach us.
Why would the Lord make the tiniest flowers so perfect, when most of us can't see the details? Maybe it's because He is a God who is in the details- all the little moments that no one else notices. The Creator who made those tiny flowers notices every detail about you, your hair, your fingerprints, your smile, what is in your heart, because you are His child- you are more loved than the flowers. You are a priceless treasure to Jesus. There is nothing too small for Him to notice when it comes to His children.
All of nature praises God. He is a wonderful Father giving gifts when we least expect it. He answers prayers in His own way and His own time, always in ways that benefit us most. He doesn't forget our prayers, though they may take years to be answered, they always are! He cares more about the state of our heart and spirit than the physical worries that we can be consumed with. Growing our faith, love, humility, patience, and repentance is where He works, helping us know Him better, even if it takes trials. What a loving Father He is! There aren't enough words to tell of how wonderful our Heavenly Father is! Even all of nature with its many forms of beauty and perfection isn't enough to tell of Jesus' love for us. Like the garden that is best experienced alone, coming to know Jesus is an individual experience. His love must be experienced personally, with Him as the guide. What a treasure we find in Jesus, and in knowing Him!
