Wowsers! What a day. I love when you ask God for something specific and he answers you using the focus of the season you are in. My husband and I are in the process of picking out trees to plant in our yard. One for the front and one for the back and so when I ran to vent to God today here’s what he showed me
Isn’t this a beautiful tree!! It’s tall, it’s old and it’s the biggest one in the picture. I look at this tree a lot because it’s at the park just down the street from my house. It’s what I stare at while I swing on a porch swing. So I sat and stared at this tree for a few minutes and I strongly sensed God telling me “This is you, notice all of the trees around the big tree? They need your shade and your strength to look up to.”
What I took away from this was that we have friends in our lives for a reason (all the trees around the big tree need each other). The tall tree needs the little trees to protect it’s roots and help block wind and so on. There’s quite a message just in this one picture. The message that I want to be very clear is that God views us all as this big beautiful tree with our own little forest looking up to us.
He also showed me how much the tree moves in the wind since it’s taller and bigger. The winds affect the top more or the part that the rest of the world sees. However, the trunk and roots do not bend or break during a storm. In order for this to happen we have to be rooted in something stable and a place that gets water regularly. (ummm wow right?)
God also spoke very clearly to me that because of the way I knew Him when I was younger He was able to prune a lot of things out of my life years ago so I could be this big beautiful tree. Now I am a very strong beautiful example of the power and strength of God. (cue water works)
God also spoke very clearly to me that because of the way I knew Him when I was younger He was able to prune a lot of things out of my life years ago so I could be this big beautiful tree. Now I am a very strong beautiful example of the power and strength of God. (cue water works)
Then God Showed me this tree.
This tree is not a pretty tree. Am I right? It looks to be about the same age. I want you to notice two things though. It’s completely alone and it has the potential to be beautiful. It simply needs to be pruned. It will be a pretty tree once all the dead has been removed. It doesn’t have anyone to look up to it. It doesn’t have anyone to surround it when storms come and chances are the stress that this tree has gone through could have been shared had it had other trees around it to take the brunt of the storm. The tree is desperately alone and in need of a grove of trees to love it and help it become the beautiful tree that it can be.
I know whole heartedly it’s God’s desire for us to be this big tall tree. However, it may not feel like we are right now. We feel like the second tree. Used, abused and alone. I know as a mom of a 2 year old that's getting closer to 3 years old now I don't feel beautiful. I feel beat up broken and like parts of me are completely dead. However in my quiet place (which usually happens around 11:30pm or later or at 12:15 over the noon lunch hour when my hubby comes home on his lunch break) I pour out my heart to God and allow him to show me what dead things I need to prune out. I have done this my entire life and I don't know where I would be today without that.
Do you have junk in your life? Will you allow a friend to point it out to you? Are there huge limbs that are completely dead that need to be pruned away so new growth can fill in and make that area beautiful again? I know that I do after today. I’m thankful God showed me these vivid images.
