Trees

I am drawn to trees...in art, in jewelry, and in real life. As I was praying this morning, I started to think about why I love these things. Here are a few examples of the trees in my life :)...

Picture above our couch

My journal (that I purchased at Liberty in London, but they now sell at Anthropologie)

My favorite necklace

As a believer and worshiper of Christ, I want all things to bring glory to His name. I want to reflect on my likes and my attractions, and see if they "stir my affections" (term made popular by our pastor) for the Lord or if they just begin and end on me. One of my all time favorite verses is in Jeremiah 17:5-8

"Thus says the Lord:“Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. 6 He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. 7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. 8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Psalm 92:11-13

"The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,  

they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; 

¹³ planted in the house of the LORD, 

they will flourish in the courts of our God."

Isaiah 44:22-24

²² "I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you." ²³ Sing for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, O earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees, for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel. ²⁴ "This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself..."

I want to be like the tree that he talks about in Jeremiah, that has roots that are deep in the Lord and bears fruit no matter what comes my way. I want to flourish like a palm tree in the house of the Lord, and worship Him because He is a good God. I want to remember daily that He has swept away my offenses and sing for joy with nature, knowing that He has conquered death once and He will return to conquer it and sin once and for all.


I have such a long way to go in learning to reflect on the Lord in all things, but maybe today with this reminder I will take all my affections, likes, and personality and give glory to His name alone since He is the one that created ALL things. May it play on repeat in my head today, "worship the CREATOR, not the creation!"