Come and Dine

Do you remember Mephibosheth?  He was the grandson of Saul, the King of Israel.   He was also the son of David’s dearest friend, Jonathan.  When David became King after Saul and Jonathan died, the family of Saul, thinking that David would have them killed, ran away taking Mephibosheth with them. 

During the escape Mephibosheth was injured in such a way that he would always be lame.

Many years went by and David remembered a promise he had made to Jonathan.  The promise was that David would always do kindness to the family of Saul so he sought out any relatives who were still alive.  They found Mephibosheth and brought him in to the King.  He appeared, trembling and bowing.  This is how the conversation went.  

“Mephibosheth!"

"At your service,” he replied.  

“Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”

Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “who am I” that you should notice a dead dog like me?”  2 Sam 9:7 (NIV)

That’s how he thought of himself, as a dead dog – but David didn’t see him that way, David saw him as the son of his dearest friend.  And I can believe that David was looking forward to seeing him every day at dinner time. 

The fact that David made the first move to rescue Mephibosheth reminds us that it was God who reached out to us  - He made the first move.  We were estranged from God and enemies of God, yet He loved us and sent His Son to die for us.  The scripture tells us in Romans 5:8

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us".

For David to restore Mephibosheth cost him very little, but for God to restore us and bring us into His family, Jesus had to sacrifice His life. 

We weren’t entitled to eat at His table any more than Mephibosheth was entitled to dine at David’s table. But because of a promise, he would spend the rest of his life in the presence of the king.  And we will sit at God’s table as well, because of a promise He made long, long, ago.  

The promise was that He would send a savior to redeem us, to pay the cost of our sins, so that we could spend eternity at God’s table.

What an honor!  Even to be able to serve Him at that table would be enough.  Or it would be amazing to even peek in the door and see the meal eaten – that would be more than I deserved. 

We don’t deserve it - not by anything we have done, it’s an honor that God bestows on us because Jesus died for us and we are now God’s adopted children.

Mephibosheth was very aware of David’s position in the kingdom – David was the king.  And we need to be aware of God’s position as Creator, Master, King of the universe - so that we can understand the honor He bestows on us when He invites us to dine at His table.

An amazing thing is that Jesus wrote out the invitation for us.  He bought and paid the price.  He will be sitting at the right hand of the Father at that meal and we’ll be there because of His sacrifice.

Psalm 107:8-9 (NIV)

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love

    and his wonderful deeds for mankind,

 for he satisfies the thirsty

    and fills the hungry with good things.

Hunger for God, hunger for His love, hunger for home – they will all be filled at His table in our eternal home.

The Least of these

 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’  "The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Matthew 25:34 – 40 (New International Version)

Have you ever wondered just who would be the least of these that are mentioned in this scripture?

                                                                                                              

He asked us to take care of them,

to feed and clothe and visit them. 

So could you tell by looking?

Explain now if you please -

can you even picture who God calls one of the least of these?

Did you see him on that busy street,

a man – “the least of these”?

Unsteady steps in front of me –

a heavy load I could not see.

He doesn’t stand out in a crowd, but blends in with the scenery,

He looks too much like you and me to be one of the least of these.

A mother in the checkout line,

she’s one – “the least of these.”

She counts her money carefully.

Her smile is forced, not calm, or free.

But then you might not notice her returning this - and these.

She looks too much like you and me to be one of the least of these.

With graying hair and fading sight,

she’s one – “the least of these.”

Alone, though in a crowd she’ll be.

She’s here, but without family.

With just a cane to hold her hand, she walks on gingerly.

Forgotten yes, by you and me, she’s just one of the least of these.

They cross our paths most everyday

But sometimes no one sees.

Hunger, thirst and those who need a bit of help somewhere,

the stranger who calls out for love - for someone else to care,

the sick, the aged, or those trapped in prisons of the soul,  

all need the contact of a friend to help them be made whole.

They cross our paths most everyday

Will we walk in the Master’s way and help the least of these?

Diane Gruchow January 2015

Courage

How courageous are you?

Do you remember the lion in “The Wizard of OZ?”  He wanted to have courage and went through a whole lot of trouble seeking it. 

Remember that the wizard finally told him, "You have plenty of courage. There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger.  True courage is in facing danger when you are afraid. . .  “

Well, it’s not just in facing danger that we need courage.  There are things that we’re afraid of for no reason at all.  I have to tell you about a dream I had the other night – but first you need to know that I have a fear that I know is silly – but it’s still there.  I’m afraid of birds of any kind.  I’ve been known to know over lamps getting to the door when someone’s pet bird is loose in the house. 

So that’s what makes the dream I had so strange.

In the dream people were rioting and everything was bedlam.  In the middle of that there were some chickens that were going to be hurt if someone didn’t pick them up and rescue them.  At that point, (big brave me) I picked up a baby chick, held it close and protected it from harm.  Ok I woke up after that, before the baby chick could scratch my eyes out.

But the point is that, not all of our fears are rational – they are just fears and sometimes we need courage to face even the least of them.  We also need courage to face the trials of life, suffering, loneliness, or just living.  We need courage every single day.

The Bible does have answers for us.  Courage doesn’t come just because we work at it – courage comes as a gift from God.  Let’s look at what God’s word says about fears and about courage.

The Apostle Paul needed courage when he was in prison.  He wondered if he would live to continue his work.  

Look at Acts 23:11(NIV)  “The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

David needed courage when he faced Goliath. 

If you’ve ever fought a giant you can identify with David in this event.  His giant was a Philistine soldier 10 feet tall, but your giant could be anything that was so big that you knew you couldn’t handle it on your own. 

Well, David couldn’t handle Goliath on his own and he knew it.   This is what he said to his giant.

1 Sam 17:45 – 47 (NIV)   “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.   This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands,  . . . and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head.”

He talks about the army and then he goes on –

“And the whole world will know that there IS a God in Israel.  All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s,”

Our battles belong to God as well – because He loves us and will fight by our sides. 

Peter needed courage.  Remember when Peter was afraid of the wind and the sea only because he took his eyes off Jesus.  Otherwise he would have been able to do something no one on earth was capable of – walk on water.

Peter was also afraid on the night that Jesus was crucified?  He was so afraid that he denied even knowing his Lord. 

But that changed entirely after Jesus was raised from the dead and sent the Holy Spirit to give Peter and the other disciples’ courage. 

We find that the priests and leaders of the people threatened Peter and John telling them not to speak of Jesus or they would be killed. 

They prayed to God and this is part of their prayer.  

In Acts 4:29 (NIV) we read;  “Now, Lord, consider their threats (the threats of the leaders of the people) and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. . . . (Parenthesis mine)

The Holy Spirit gave them courage and many, people heard the word and believed.

I think it’s interesting that the disciples asked for courage to speak boldly, not for the troubles to go away.  That may be a lesson for us as well.

But we need to remember that we can be courageous because God goes with us and will never leave or forsake us.

Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)  “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified ….., for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

We can have courage because God is strong, He is our strength and defense and salvation.

Isaiah 12:2 (NIV) “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.”

You can have courage because you are worth so much to God.

Luke 12:7 (NIV)“Indeed the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Don’t be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows.”

It’s amazing how many times the Bible says, “Don’t be afraid.”  It’s sometimes very hard to do, but there’s something else I want to add here. 

When we think of courage it sounds so strong - Like the voice of a lion – which people

generally see as a courageous beast – roaring loudly. 

Courage isn’t like that, it doesn’t always roar, sometimes courage comes as a timid voice at the end of the day saying.  I will try again tomorrow.  I will awake in the morning and I will allow God to give me courage to face whatever is in store for me today. And if you truly believe that Proverbs 3:24 will surely apply to you.

Proverbs 3:24 (NIV)  “When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.”

 Jesus tells us

John 14:27 (NIV)  “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Courage – it’s a gift from God, let’s take His hand and let Him be courageous for us.

Giants

 Giants - We seem to find them in our lives.  They're the things that we feel are too big for us to handle.                                              

God’s people - the Israelites, faced literal giants. We read of David, the shepherd boy who fought the 

giant.  The scripture tells us that Israel and the Philistines were at war.  The Israelites were on one hill and the Philistines on the opposite one with the valley between them.

From the Message version of 1 Samuel 17, we read - 

“A giant, nearly ten feet tall stepped out from the Philistine line into the open, Goliath from Gath!  He had a bronze helmet on his head and was dressed in armor—126 pounds of it! He wore bronze shin guards and carried a bronze sword. His spear was like a fence rail—the spear tip alone weighed over fifteen pounds.”

Wow!  That’s some Giant isn’t it?  And the Israelites were running scared.

Scripture says that Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel.  He wanted one man to come down and fight him.  He said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel!”

This went on and on.  For 40 days Goliath came out and defied God.

Finally, help came.  But it came in the form of a little kid named David.  He was sent by his dad to check on his brothers.  When David arrived and heard what the giant was saying, he became angry and said,

 “. . .  Who is this that defies the armies of the living God?”

Without even thinking about it, David told the King that he would fight the giant.

Saul didn’t think it was a good idea, but David persevered.  He told Saul that he’d killed a lion and a bear with his bare hands and this giant would be just like one of them . . . and he added the most important thing. 

“because he (the giant) has defied the armies of the living God, the Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

You know what happened then - David chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in a pouch, and, with his sling and his staff in his hands, approached the Philistine giant.  And as he approached, David said -

“This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. . . and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.  All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

So, young David did – He killed the giant by slinging a stone – without the help of the army, without the help of his brothers, and without the help of shield, sword and armor.  He killed him with the help of our great almighty God.

Do you have giants in your land?  What are your giants? 

I see a giant as something that we feel inadequate to handle.   Our giants may be huge or small, but if they intimidate us, and we don’t feel we can handle them – they’re still giants.

Here are a few examples.

How about worry?  Are you battling the giant that stands there and tells you that you need to worry about what’s going to happen to you because of things you don’t understand?  He’s a really big giant – threatening you with all kinds of possibilities – dire consequences.

Or maybe your giant is a health problem.  He’s a strong giant.  He pops up when you aren't looking, or he just keeps at you, to drag you down.  He may attack you or your loved ones and he just goes on causing you problems.  You feel inadequate to do anything about him.

How about the giant of loneliness?  He whispers – generally he doesn’t shout – he just gets behind you and whispers discouraging words.  He’d like to keep you to himself – and he sure doesn’t like it when you seek out other people for help.

Or maybe - your giant is grief.  That giant can ruin your life.  He will encourage your loneliness, your illnesses, and your worry.  Grief is one of those things that we all face at one time or another, and truly it’s not a bad thing until you let it grow and become a giant that controls your life. 

You’ve heard people say, “I can’t help that I’m worried.  But what does God say?

First we need to look at those giants in the way that David did.  David got angry with Goliath – Goliath was defying the almighty God.  He was making fun of God’s people – When David got angry, he determined to fight Goliath.  He was not going to let Goliath get away with his treatment of God and God’s people.  To me that’s the best part of the story.  He wanted to show that there was a Strong, Mighty God in Israel.

You know how it is when you feel something strongly.  It hits you right here, in your heart.  I believe that David felt the need to defend the name of the Almighty God, with such a gut-wrenching zeal, that he was not afraid to face a giant.  

 

Second – David understood that he required God’s help - he knew he couldn’t handle the giant by himself.  David said, “the Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”  He didn’t ever say, “I can do it myself.”  He said God will protect me from this giant.

And next – David did what he could.  He armed himself with 5 stones.  God expects us to trust in him and rely on him, but then he does not expect us to just sit down and wait – we need to be active in our battle against the giants.  

How do we do that?  It’s sometimes a hard question.  But just as David put a stone in the sling, we need to put God’s word in our hearts and our minds.  God’s word, prayers, worship, and talking with other Christians – those are ammunition against the giants.  And with God’s wonderful help – we can overcome our giants. 

David won that battle.  He did it because he loved and trusted God.  He was not going to let the giant defy God.  He did it because he understood he needed God’s help – that he couldn’t do it on his own.  And he did it because he took the step of faith and put that stone in the sling. 

Jesus tells us that God is there to help us.  Do you know where your help comes from?  I hope you do, because the scripture tells us in Psalm 121

^“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—

    where does my help come from?My help comes from the Lord,    the Maker of heaven and earth.”

I pray that, as I face my battles, I will do so with dependence on the one who was there with David.  I pray that those who see me will know in whom I trust, and who is fighting the battle by my side.  This is my view of the battle.

The battle rages.  Giants roar, their strength's been glorified.

One giant is named loneliness, another giant – pain.

The giant’s will and mine collide -

a fight from which I’d choose to hide,

but God is there right by my side.

The battles rage, a giant roars.  His voice is loud and shrill.

He stands and shouts of loss and want.  He tells me he will win.

My heart is full of dread and chill.

Fear me! - Those awful words ring still,

but fear is not God’s will.

My God is fighting for me now.  He’s with me day and night.

My God, with mighty strength abides.  With peace, my heart God filled.

He keeps me strong, to fight the fight.

He’ll squash the wrong and right the right.

He’ll win, with all his strength and might.

And the giant will be stilled.

Diane Gruchow 2014

Pictures

 Something that happened to me in church recently that really started me thinking.

As I sat in the pew, my eyes were fixed on the big gold colored cross hanging at the front of the sanctuary.  As I sat there looking at that cross I was thinking of the one who had hung on a different, a rugged, wooden cross. 

That other cross was not in a beautiful - softly lit building.  It was on a hill, outside the city of Jerusalem, many miles and years away from where I sat in that comfortable pew. 

Then I closed my eyes in prayer.

Although my eyes were closed, the picture of the cross remained.  It was still there for about a half a minute, and then gradually faded away.   Has that ever happened to you? You looked intently at something and then when you stopped looking at it, the image remained for several seconds there on your eyelids?

After I opened my eyes, I thought that - much of the time it happens this way.  When I stop looking at the Christ of the cross, the Christ of the Bible, the picture of Him disappears from my mind and I forget Him for a time – or maybe it’s just that I neglect to remember. 

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the picture of Jesus would always stay on our eyelids?

As far as His physical beauty, the prophet Isaiah described Jesus in Isaiah 53 –

“He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, 

and no beauty that we should desire him.” 

Isaiah was saying that Jesus was not going to be especially handsome and there was nothing special in His appearance that would make Him stand out.  That matches with the many references in the New Testament of Jesus easily slipping through the crowds. 

God must not think it’s very important for us to know what Jesus looked like physically – because He didn’t put much information in the Bible about that.  Jesus’ humanity made Him no different looking than any other man of the day.  But as we’ll see though He was very different in many ways.

Jesus was, in every way, a man as well as God.  We read in the Gospels about him living a life like other people did.  Just like all of the other Hebrew boys, He was taught the scriptures.  He probably ran and played, fell and scraped His knees. 

After He grew up, we read much more about Jesus.  We know that, like everyone else He did things with other people.  He worked.  He ate with others.  He attended parties. 

But, let’s see if we can fill out the picture a little more.  Jesus had many facets.  We see gentleness and love in His eyes whenever He’s dealing with children.  Remember when the parents brought young children to Jesus so that He would bless them – and the disciples didn’t want Jesus disturbed?

We find that in Mark 10:13 

^“People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them.  When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  . . “  and then the scripture says, 

“he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.”

Then, when a widow’s only son had died

Jesus came upon a funeral procession for a young man - the only son of his mother who was a widow. . . .  When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said to her, “Don’t cry.” And then Jesus raised him from the dead and gave him back to his mother. 

The part of that scripture I love is that Jesus’ heart went out to the mother and He told her not to cry.  Doesn’t that just touch you as well?  His kindness and care were evident -  but Jesus was not a wimp.  There were times when He was very stern. 

He showed that trait when He talked to the Pharisees about their pride and when He was dealing with the demons.  We also see anger in Him when He chased the money changers out of the temple.  . 

But, let’s look at some other words from the Bible that help us see Jesus as He is.

The Bible’s words tell us that Jesus sighed, or He wept.  There were times when Jesus was described as being surprised and amazed.  Or that He rejoiced, and he loved.

All of those descriptions are in scripture.  Those words paint a picture of a real person, don’t they?  Jesus was not a fairy tale – He was God and He was a real man.  

Jesus had amazing power.   

There are so many times that the Bible shows us pictures of Jesus’ power – feeding the 5,000 hungry people, making the sea obey Him, healing many, many, people and raising them from the dead - all these events and many more show His power to heal and to help.

.

He was strong.  Jesus withstood temptation – His strength against the temptations of the Devil in the wilderness, and His strength in facing death on the cross for us, was amazing. 

And then we must never forget the face of Love that we see in Him.  He loves us.  That’s the picture of the cross.  Christ died because of His love for you and for me. 

Romans 8:39

neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Pictures of our savior – real pictures – on the eyelids of our minds – I pray that they will never fade away.

Leaning

I’d like to introduce you to “The leaning tree.”  This tree is huge.  When you look at him, he seems to be leaning towards the side and as your eyes follow his trunk, you see the top reaching for the sky. 

I wonder why he’s shaped the way he is?  There are several possibilities.  Maybe, when he was just a sapling he was in a spot that provided no shelter from the wind.  He may not have been able to remain straight and tall with the wind blowing constantly from one direction. 

Or, possibly he didn’t sprout in good rich soil.  It’s hard to hang on when all you encounter is rock. 

Or he may have been pushed down by another tree.

Or he may have had to grow sideways to find the sun in an area where other trees were blocking it out.

But with the creator’s help he survived.  He’s been growing in this spot among a forest of others for maybe 70 to 100 years.  But I believe that God planned for him to be just what and where he is, because that tree has something to teach – something  the creator wants me to know.  Let’s think about lessons from the tree.

Lesson number one - There will be wind and sometimes it hurts. 

The wind likely blew this tree so hard that he couldn’t stand up under it.  God’s word tells us that, in our growing, there will be trials like the wind that will push us down, but with God’s help we can still grow. 

Job 21:18 (NIV)

How often are they like straw before the wind, . . .

Matthew 7:25 (NIV)

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house . . . .

We’ll finish that scripture later. 

Psalm 34:19 (NIV)

The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord 

delivers him from them all;

Yes, there will be troubles and trials and wind in our lives – but remember the tree survived and so can we.  The scripture says that “The Lord delivers him from them all.”  We can count on that.

And to finish the verse about the house on the rock – the rains came, the winds blew but the house stood firm - because it was built on trust in God.  We will have winds blowing us about, but they don’t need to blow us down – and they won’t, when we depend on our God.

The next lesson is

·       There will be rocks in the way.

My big old tree grows in an area where rock is abundant.  When we built our house here, we had to blast in order to dig the basement foundation.  When I want to plant flowers I have to haul in top soil – consequently we don’t have a very big flower garden.

The scripture tells us that building a house on a rock is a good thing, but it’s very difficult to grow something when the ground is rocky.  Remember the parable of the sower.  The farmer sowed his seeds and some fell on rocky ground and couldn't reach the moisture.    

God tells the tree and He tells us not to be discouraged when all we find is rock.  He says he will never forsake us.

Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV)

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

The tree doesn’t move around like we do, but God will direct our paths and keep us from being discouraged when it’s hard to reach good soil.

I think this may be a lesson that we all need to learn – there are rocks in the way of our happiness – of our growth.  There always will be, because we live in a rocky land.  Our world is full of obstacles, and just like the tree, we need to continue to reach around them in order to find the truth of God’s love and his plans for us.

Those rocks could be our background, our financial situations, our health or maybe just day to day problems. 

How do we find the water of life in this rocky land? 

Well, we continue to search.  The tendrils on the roots of the tree continue to probe and reach into tiny cracks in the rock, until finally they find the soil. 

They find the way to nourishment by continuing.  At this stage in our lives we sometimes feel that we’re too tired – too old – too anything to learn something (remember the silly thing about not being able to teach an old dog new tricks? – well they are wrong!)  Because God is not old – He’s eternal – but He’s not old.  God is not tired – He’s done everything we could imagine – but He’s not tired.  God is the one who will give us strength and direct our paths as we probe and reach into the cracks of our lives to learn and to grow.

There’s a great song that tells us -  God will make a way, where there seems to be no way.  Do you know it?

Psalm 48:14 (NIV)

For this God. is our God for ever and ever; He will be our guide even to the end.

Ephesians 3:17 (TLB)

And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts, living within you as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love;  and may you be able to feel and understand, as all God’s children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high his love really is;

Just like the tree we need to drink in the richness of His love and nourishment, and yes, just like the tree we need to find the sun.

That’s lesson number three – reach up to find the sun.

The Son of God is vital to our growing.  He is unchanging.  Every good thing comes from Him. 

James 1:17 (NIV)

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Without the sun, trees cannot grow.  Like the soil, the sun is necessary for growth.  I picture God the Father as the soil – that which we are planted in – that which we draw nourishment from – that which sustains us – that which we come from. 

And the sun reminds me that without the Son of God, we would be in darkness, because there is no way we could reach the perfection that is called for - by a Holy God.  Without the Son to pay the price of our salvation, we would be dead in sin. 

The Bible equates the sun with brightness, goodness and life.   In the book of Revelation we read that Christ’s face was like the sun.

Revelation 1:16 (NIV)

. . . . . His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

Jesus tells us that He is the light of the world – the ultimate sun. 

John 8:12 (NIV)

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

If trees could talk,

what would they tell

of struggles in their striving?

If trees could talk, then would you hear

your own tales of surviving?

As they explain what pain and want

they felt through sunless years,

would you feel empathy for them

cause you’ve spent time in tears?

And would you hear of God’s provision,

sunshine, soil, and power?

And would you hear of how He’d been

their strength in each dark hour?

Would you

 in them

 see things to learn

about the Father’s ways?

Would you see God through tales of wind

and rocks

and sunny days?

Like the trees, we will have wind and rocks and struggles, and like the trees – with His help, we’ll be able to reach and grow and stay.