Winter in Southern California must struggle to keep summer from popping up and shining all over the drizzly gray that passes for January weather here. Like a beach ball being held under the water, one slip, one moment of inattention, and Summer comes breaking through the clouds for a few short days, before it can be wrestled back down where it belongs. 70 degree days are just barely suppressed, keeping our fruit trees in a state of perpetual confusion. We have to prune between the warm, still leafy days of early November, and the spring-is-already-knocking-at-the-door days of late February, you just never know. Summer could pop up at any time. And when it does, the trees bud and baby fruit starts to form so fast you wonder if the peaches might ripen by Easter.
And so, I pruned lightly this year, just before Christmas. The clippers trembled with indecision as I over-contemplated each trim. Every year I revisit a mistake made years ago, when I over-trimmed every fruit tree to a skeletal reminder of what had been. They stood naked until late May, and spent every drip of energy pushing out a fragile flock of leaves, but nary a blossom every appeared.
I thought of that, as I read this morning’s devotion, The Blessed Man. Psalm 1 details
the character qualities of the man that God calls “blessed.” I was especially caught by the picture, the metaphor, given for that man…”He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither…” Ps. 1:3.
One of the things Papa pointed out in today’s reading is that “The tree’s roots grasp the underlying ribs of the earth and it reaches up with its branches and leaves, drinking in
sunshine and rain. So the man of God must be, rising to communions with his roots twisted around the Rock of Ages.” Like a well-pruned, well-nourished tree in my garden, a well-nourished, healthy believer will be balanced. Our inner spiritual life will find outer expression.
Sink your roots deep – into God’s Word, into His presence through prayer, drawing strength and steadiness from the immutable, unchangeable Father in Heaven. But, stretch out your arms in this life, bringing the fruit of the Holy Spirit to a hungry world.
My little trees that I had pruned with savage abandon? They still had a good root system, but they were of no use in this world. There was no fruit, no shade. So, too, could I be, if I clamored for wisdom and knowledge and communion with God, without reaching beyond myself in this world to be a conduit of His love for others. That temptation to selfish spirituality is very real to me.
On the other hand, a tree with wide-spreading branches, whose roots are not properly anchored, will not be able to stand through the aggressive, sudden winds we call Santa Ana’s. One good 60 mph gust, and such a tree would go right over. It looks good for a while, but there just isn’t any staying power. We must be grounded in truth.
So, today, I’m thinking about the balance. How to meditate on the Word day and night. How to bear fruit in season. How to be a blessed man, or woman, in the sight of the Lord. How to be like a tree. And you, my friend?
- blessings as you seek and serve Him, Cara
Classic Christianity
And so, I pruned lightly this year, just before Christmas. The clippers trembled with indecision as I over-contemplated each trim. Every year I revisit a mistake made years ago, when I over-trimmed every fruit tree to a skeletal reminder of what had been. They stood naked until late May, and spent every drip of energy pushing out a fragile flock of leaves, but nary a blossom every appeared.
I thought of that, as I read this morning’s devotion, The Blessed Man. Psalm 1 details
the character qualities of the man that God calls “blessed.” I was especially caught by the picture, the metaphor, given for that man…”He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither…” Ps. 1:3.
One of the things Papa pointed out in today’s reading is that “The tree’s roots grasp the underlying ribs of the earth and it reaches up with its branches and leaves, drinking in
sunshine and rain. So the man of God must be, rising to communions with his roots twisted around the Rock of Ages.” Like a well-pruned, well-nourished tree in my garden, a well-nourished, healthy believer will be balanced. Our inner spiritual life will find outer expression.
Sink your roots deep – into God’s Word, into His presence through prayer, drawing strength and steadiness from the immutable, unchangeable Father in Heaven. But, stretch out your arms in this life, bringing the fruit of the Holy Spirit to a hungry world.
My little trees that I had pruned with savage abandon? They still had a good root system, but they were of no use in this world. There was no fruit, no shade. So, too, could I be, if I clamored for wisdom and knowledge and communion with God, without reaching beyond myself in this world to be a conduit of His love for others. That temptation to selfish spirituality is very real to me.
On the other hand, a tree with wide-spreading branches, whose roots are not properly anchored, will not be able to stand through the aggressive, sudden winds we call Santa Ana’s. One good 60 mph gust, and such a tree would go right over. It looks good for a while, but there just isn’t any staying power. We must be grounded in truth.
So, today, I’m thinking about the balance. How to meditate on the Word day and night. How to bear fruit in season. How to be a blessed man, or woman, in the sight of the Lord. How to be like a tree. And you, my friend?
- blessings as you seek and serve Him, Cara
Classic Christianity
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