"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust
is the LORD. "For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That
extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its
leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease
to yield fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8 NASB
We
planted the tree not long after we moved into the new house on 73rd
East Avenue in Tulsa, OK. Just off the
patio seemed a good place to provide cover from the setting sun in the
evenings. It had a long way to go to do
that. At that time it was just a skinny
sapling that got in the way of our backyard play and slowed down the mowing of
the yard.
Over
the years the small sapling began to take root and grow. I remember first noticing its development
because my mother made me sweep its leaves off of the patio! (It seemed like a lot for such a small
tree.) We watered and nurtured the
sapling so it could get a good start.
The next summer, there was a bit of shade that appeared on the patio in
the evening. It was a welcome relief
from the Oklahoma sun.
By
the next year we could hang from some of the branches or use the trunk for
cover when chasing around the yard with cousins. The shade was now reaching into the house and
made the den a little cooler. Sometimes
when I needed to think I would sit with my back against the trunk and ponder.
Over
the years that followed, my siblings and I were off to college and beginning
families of our own. It was on one
return trip that I looked with great surprise at the backyard tree. Its branches were big and the limbs reached
far across the yard. I took my daughter
and placed her on a lower limb up against the trunk and took her picture. Dad came out and we found an old tire to make
the first swing. That old tire was there
so long the rope became a part of the tree.
Hours were spent with family climbing and swinging in the backyard
tree. And yes, a major job every fall
was cleaning up the leaves.
In
many ways that tree symbolized the growth of the family inside the house. Each one of us was growing slowly each
year. Early on we required nurturing and
care that would get us started. At first
we could not really support much more than ourselves. We really were not capable of giving much
protection to others. But over the years
we began to spread out and perform the purposes we were born for. From season to season we changed just as the
tree.
Standing
there below the tree I looked into the expanse of its limbs as I placed a
grandson in the branches. The tree was
strong and large and the bark was smooth where the swing had rubbed. My daughter gets her camera to take a
picture. I looked around and
realized…it’s time to pick up the leaves again.
The backyard tree is something
special in my life. It has served its
purpose well and can always be trusted.
Scripture
to Claim:
The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow
like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the LORD, They will flourish
in the courts of our God. |
Psalms 92:12-13 NASB
Psalms 92:12-13 NASB
