We have a beautiful blue spruce tree in our front yard and it is sick. So are numerous other evergreen trees & bushes on our neighborhood loop. I was elected by my family (obviously I must be the one who has time!!! Arghhh) to find out WHY and WHAT to do. I called my "life line", Karen, who teaches my kids all things Science. She of course had many answers off the top of her head (who knows enough Science to be able to answer random tree questions?...she is amazing!) She referred me to the WSU extention office & tomorrow I bring in a sample because "it could be one of 12 different things!".
I have been very frustrated with myself because I do not seem to move beyond being Caught in the Middle with God (see Casting Crowns Alter & the Door CD)...for example: deep water faith in the shallow end/fearless warrior behind a picket fence/reckless abandon wrapped in common sense/choosing between the God I want and the God who is etc. I really identify with that song.
The Lord spoke to me yesterday as I was dealing with the tree about besetting sins and compromise. Like my tree, I can be spiritually sick and it could be one of many things. I need to go to the expert, identify the problem through prayer, remedy it through confession, and protect against a reoccurence. I imagine our tree was sick long before it began to show signs. I am really good at suiting up & showing up and not letting people see that I am struggling spiritually. I can have brown spots and dead branches long before the illness or crises that bring it all out into the open. Like the evergreens in our neighborhood, illness spreads. When you aren't right with God, even if you think you are the only one who knows, pretty soon you look around and your relationships with others isn't right either. That's God's way of getting our attention. Unfortunately, I am much more aware of the status of my relationships with others than with Him.
As I seek to save my tree, I am grateful for the One who saved me. I am grateful that He is the expert and the One who knows when I need pruning, strong medicine, more life giving water or just more time basking in His light.
I want to be a real tree brown spots, cobwebs, weak branches and all NOT a perfect, healthy, plastic tree. Your assignment Ladies is to help me "keep it real"!
Prayer for the President of the United States
5 years ago
3 comments:
Cool analogy, great post. I think it is really cool that a lot of the bloggy group is opening up about very real personal struggles. =) Everyone else already knows we aren't perfect, so why not admit it! ;)
Thanks for being honest and real! No matter how old we are or how long we've been a christian, God still has work to do in us. I know there is still so much I need to overcome, learn and completely give to God. It's great to know we can pray for each other as we seek to follow God each and every day. I hope your tree gets better too!
I'll be praying for you!
here are some more lyric that I love from Casting Crowns:
"are we happy plastic people under happy plastic steeples...with walls around our weakness and smiles to hide our pain....
.....am I the only one who's traded in the altar for a stage....?"
you're right, my dear one, we must keep it real.
;0)
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