You Make All Things New

The leaves on the trees at our house are finally beginning to change. As I was sitting out on the deck yesterday morning I began to think about why something so beautiful has to go away.  Why do we get beautiful blooming trees in the spring, vibrant green trees in the summer, bright colored trees in the fall, and stripped down, brown, empty trees in the winter.  Well the simple answer is that it is part of God's creation and that is how it is supposed to work.

But I kept thinking about it and saw a picture of my life in the changing trees.  Trees lose their leaves in the fall to prepare for the harsh cold of winter.  Trees use a lot of energy when they are in full bloom.  So as they prepare for winter, they need to conserve their energy.  Without their leaves, trees are able to keep more moisture in their trunk and branches - keeping the tree from drying out and dying.  Losing their leaves allows the trees to go into a state of dormancy which also allows the tree to conserve more energy so it is not damaged over the winter.  (Yes I did look all this up!)  So basically trees are stripped down to the bare essentials to make it through the harsh winter only to be renewed again in spring.  During the summer the trees soak up all the light that they need to make their leaves bloom and remain green.  As they begin to prepare for winter they conserve all they need to sustain their life through the hard winter.

It feels like a great metaphor for our lives.  During our good times we need to be soaking in God's word and what He is trying to teach us.  I think all too often (I know I am guilty) that we sit back and relax when times are good; we just go through the motions and then we dig our heals in when we are reminded of our need for God by a hard time.  I have been convicted lately of not hiding God's word in my heart.  I need to soak it up right now, I need to get to the point where I crave it even on a good day.  I need to conserve that which sustains my life so that when I hit a bump in the road, no matter how big or small - I am ready for it.  A lot of times during hard situations or periods in our lives we feel stripped down just like those trees in the winter.  But if we have hidden God's word in our heart, then we have conserved all we need to make it through.  He promises us that He will be with us, and I truly believe that no matter how short or long our winters are, that we will eventally make it to spring and we will be able to bloom with the renewed spirit that God has given us and He will sustain us as our leaves turn green and we grow.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."  Romans 15:13