Let the Trees Rustle with Praise

"Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise, for the Lord is coming to judge the earth." 1Chronicles 16:33

Have you ever noticed that no two trees are exactly the same? Just like snowflakes. And people. 

Trees are my favorite subject to photograph. I look at them and see a life that mirrors humanity. 

From the roots up, trees are God's creations.  

If the roots grow in healthy soil, the tree has more opportunities than one that grows in hostile surroundings.  Likewise, if a child is raised in an emotionally "healthy" home, he will have more opportunities to grow into a strong adult. Does that mean that a child that grows up in a hostile environment can't grow strong and tall? Of course not. Just like those trees that manage to grow despite their surroundings, those kids end up with tougher "bark". 

Just like humans, trees were created to praise God. What stops trees from standing tall, as the days and years go by?  Severe storms, winds, rain, disease, chemicals in the soil, outside influences.  Facing these challenges, their branches are temporarily redirected outwards from the trunk, then, with time, turning upward again as if being pulled back by a Force. 

Some branches don't make it. Some break before they can be restore; cut off from the Source of Life.

We all get sidetracked in our path to praise and worship, usually by our own choosing, but sometimes by the storms of life, the battles of the mind, diseases of the body, and by outside influences.  Through it all, if we are consciously walking in the Spirit, we are led back to the "Trunk" and return on the path, maturing upwards towards our original goal of becoming like Christ.  

Sadly, sometimes our loved ones don't make it through the storms of their lives.The pressure of the world breaks their souls and they end up separated from the One who provides them strength. "Like trees, they will be cut down in the prime of life;their branches will never again be green." (Job 15:32)

But here is what I have to believe..just as the wood from the dead branches can be made into something beautiful...God can and will turn tragedy into good.

 

Trees--so complex; so peaceful; so beautiful.  Next time you look at a tree, take time to REALLY look at it, and think about your connection to it and to the One who made it.  

"You will live in joy and peace.The mountains and hills will burst into song,and the trees of the field will clap their hands!"  Isaiah 55:12