But I digress. This morning there is this fair-sized branch in our yard as a result of the overnight weather. Now my man knew this branch was dead and in fact, his reaction was "Good, the storm pruned the tree for me." But to my botanically-challenged eye, it was not apparent at first glance that the branch was dead.You see, there was a vine that had been wending its way up the tree and around the branch. Lush, healthy, and green in spite of the drought, it sourrounds the branch and much of the tree with its foliage. (If you click on the picture, you'll be able to see it in even greater detail.)
I suspect it even played a role in the branch's demise.
As long as the sun shone, the tree appeared normal, even enhanced in its adornment. But the storm revealed its true inward condition.
What a vivid picture of human nature. We entwine all sorts of things around our lives and our souls, enhancing our appearance to those around us. In the eyes of the world, we appear healthy and beautiful. But slowly, those things are actually choking us and distancing us from the Source that provides us nourishment. The storm comes, our true nature is revealed, and we fall. Or, as I Peter 1:6-7 tells us, our faith is proved genuine and we stand strong.
I've come across a couple of vivid testimonies of this that I'll be sharing as the week goes on. Have a great Monday!
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14 comments:
How I pray for faith to stand!
I have thought the same thing when several trees have fallen in our woods. One looked good on the outside, but was dying and had no root structure, and with no foundation it fell! Great spiritual lessons in our trees!
Amazing how God can teach you something from a fallen branch.
Wow what an awesome word picture your drew!!!! Thanks for that! I pray that it is not all show and fake, but when the storms come I am firmly attached the the source of life! Blessings, sister!
Beautiful. This line really grabbed me and hit a soft spot. "As long as the sun shone, the tree appeared normal, even enhanced in its adornment. But the storm revealed its true inward condition." It's been one of those weary days. I'm not sure why my new blog design is not readable for you. Hmmm.....
God can speak to us through anything! I often think of how many times I've overlooked a lesson that He was trying to show me. I'm so glad your heart was listening to Him!
Great post, Linda. Thank you for that illustration...so true. e God has been showing me some of the same things lately.
Excuse me...
Is this Mocha or LPM? I can hardly tell the difference..:)
Excellent insight my friend..
Lisa
Wow! That was a powerful illustration. I'll be thinking about that one for a while. Thank you.
This is a great analogy and a great reminder of how quickly we can let the wrong things choke the life from us. Only God can keep us steered in the right direction and full of life... eternal life at that!
Have a great week!
I'll never look at a fallen tree the same way again! You rock, friend.
Kelli
How insightful! I love when God shows us powerful truths through everyday observations.
That is a great analogy. It is amazing how in nature we can see this type of thing over and over. It is also amazing to me that so many people are blind to this kind of thing. God reveals Himself in many ways.
I particularly like your insight into the fact that it sometimes takes a storm to prune away all the dead things in our lives...our "idols" if you will.
Xandra
Wow! As I was reading I kept wondering if there were any hidden vines in my own life. I don't want to wait until a storm to find them. I need to do some pruning today.
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