The Life of a Tree

Sitting under an old maple tree, I’m enjoying the relief that the shade brings to the heat of summer. As I lean up against the trunk, I investigate the jagged, splintered, uneven crags of the bark. The brown and gray covering of the tree protects it much like skin protects humans.

Peeled bark reveals the inner workings of the tree. Moisture sipped from the roots, moves up the trunk, to the branches and then the leaves. Some trees grow tall and spread their branches out horizontally, while others shoot their fingers straight up towards the sun. Branches vary too. Some are smooth and reach upward, while others twist and tangle endlessly from the trunk. And once you follow the branches to their spindly fingering ends, you encounter endless varieties of leaves that blossom out providing shape and shade. Each tree is unique.

Trees are a lot like people. Each human is unique and each one needs to be cared for. Some people are short and stocky, while others are long and spindly. Life causes our branches to either reach out to others, or triggers us to keep them close to us.

The weather of life affects us just like it affects trees. We start out as small seedlings with smooth bark. As we grow, heat, cold, wind and rain shape who we become. If we live in moderate climates where life is good, our branches reach up and out and the leaves of our lives blossom. If we dwell in harsh climates, our bark, branches and leaves become tangled and splintered.

But no matter what climate we reside in, our bark changes as we grow older. We start out as smooth skinned babies and as we grow our skin cracks with age. Just like trees, exposure to life causes us to change. At times someone peels away our bark and causes us to be wounded, whether by words or actions. Sometimes we wound others causing their bark to scar.

But through the careful application of salve and bandages, our bark can heal and we can recover. If our wounds are left exposed, something about us withers. Either a branch dies, or our leaves wither, leaving us crippled emotionally or spiritually.

We as well as trees thrive on nourishment. That nourishment can take many forms. But for us, there is nothing better than kind words from others that help us grow. We can receive those kind words in many forms. Friends, family and even strangers can aid us in our development. And there is a secret place that provides words of encouragement. The Bible. Nothing takes the place of the supernatural nourishment of reading, reflecting and praying on the words we’ve received from the Word of God.

So if you’re feeling splintered, parched, and wilted from the heat of life, know there is healing. Sink your roots into the pages of the Bible and drink up the words of everlasting life. Dig deep into the comforting words of our God and find the healing your heart desires. Then turn your leaves toward the Son and soak up the healing love he has to offer.

On Being Dirt

Clay is dirt…minerals and dirt.

According to Genesis Chapter 1, we are dirt too.

So, you could say, we have a great deal in common with pottery. We’re both dirt.
Being dirt makes us special. Dirt, when used as clay is special. It is used to fashion pottery and art. The Bible talks about it distinctly in Isaiah 64:8, “we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand.”

There are days when being the clay is easy. I sit back and observe life around me and allow God to show me His love in nature and in others. There are days when it’s not so easy too. There are times when every movement, every moment is a struggle. The difficult situations, tired relationships, and the general day to day activities wear me out.

I think there must be times that it’s difficult for the Creator to mold me too. Times when my brain just won’t wrap around the concept of suffering or injustice, those must be challenging moments when the clay that is me, just won’t bend.

What do potters do when the clay is tough to work with? They add water. (Anyone who reads my blog with some regularity knows how much I talk about water!) It sustains life, it heals life and it is used so many places in the Bible that we understand it to be a powerful symbol used by our God.

The very molecular makeup of water reflects the Trinity—there are two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom in one molecule of water. Water binds with every element that allows binding and it fastens itself in all directions—much like our God.

I can tell when I’ve not had enough water to drink during the day. I get cranky or move slow, sometimes I get a headache. We all wilt without water. I can also tell when I’ve not had enough God during the day too.

Adding water to clay to make it more malleable makes sense on a science level. But it also makes sense on a theological level. Whenever we allow God to permeate our being, we allow the Potter to add water and make us more flexible. We learn to bend, twist, shape and move. Whether it’s through reading the Word of God in the Bible, taking in nature, dealing with rude people in traffic or experiencing the pain of suffering, those occurrences are opportunities to be molded the way the Potter wants. Sometimes the tough work of being molded yields the best results.

My job is to stop resisting the rough parts of life, so the Potter can do His work.

The Frequency of Love

Waves are a recurring theme in science. Our five senses are a perfect example.

Sound comes in waves. From our vibrating vocal chords to the vibrations of a violin string, our ears turn those incoming waves into messages that when read by the brain, help us communicate.

Light also travels in waves, which aid our eyes in determining what we are seeing. Again those waves are received by our eyes and messages are interpreted by the brain.

Life reflects science. We have good times and we have bad times, and although we might not notice, they happen with frequency as well. There are some times when we think, “If one more bad thing happens today, I’m going to lose my mind!” And when good things happen, the catch phrase is, “Just relax and ride the wave.”

Nature works much the same way. From the varying frequencies of sunlight, to the ebb and flow of the gentle water caressing the beach sand, creation happens in waves.

I would venture to say that one of the reasons humans connect with nature is because we “understand” the waves. When the trees are caught up in the breezes of the wind, so are we. When the lapping waves kiss the shore, we too are engrossed by the gentle sounds. Some say they feel God in these moments.

Maybe that’s the way He designed it. Our lives ebb and flow along with nature. And when we stop, really stop and commune with nature, we are consoled deep within our being. The gentle breeze becomes the momentary kiss and the immersion of ourselves in water becomes the all encompassing embrace we so desire. These are the moments when God says, “I love you,” and “though you suffer now, it will not always be this way.”

So the God who created the universe with a Big Bang, can also communicate in the quiet recesses of the heart using waves. I take solace in the knowledge that the most powerful God of love speaks to me in the most fragile quiet moment of nature, reminding me of the ebbs and flows of life.

I'm Amazed

Prayer does not always come easy to me. Many times, I pray and try to trust, but in the meantime, while God is “thinking” about my prayer, I act. I try to fix things. I try to figure out HOW to fix things. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

I’ve bought into the adage, “God helps those who help themselves.” However, lately I’ve run into problems that are so big that not only have I been forced to pray with constant vigor, I’ve had to trust that He knows better than me.

What I haven’t done until recently was stop asking God what His plan is, and wait in hope. While that sounds obvious, simply saying, “Jesus, I trust in You!” is much easier than letting those words permeate into my very being.

Lately, I’ve had no choice. And I now thank God for that. He’s shown me I don’t need to know the plan, but that I MUST trust in Him. Over time, I have concluded that I don’t even want to KNOW the plan; I trust whatever He wills for me and my family.
Something happened today that solidified that response. Actually three things happened. They were long awaited answers. They were tearful confirmations that it will be okay.

When these things happened, I immediately shared them to the same God with which I’ve shed so many tears. I didn’t call anyone or shout it from the mountaintops. Instead, I sat in silence and shared them with God. Only God.

Then I remembered something I recently read about Jesus. It was written by someone whose love and trust for God goes beyond my imagination. They said, “We are never alone because Jesus never leaves us. To leave us would be acting against His very nature and such a thing is impossible.”

We’ve talked so many times on this blog about human nature and sometimes, divine nature. But typically, we’ve discussed them as two separate identities, science and faith. Even in all my research for my book on how God is in our DNA—how close He is to us in every since cell we have—I’ve never considered the impact of what it means for God’s nature to be so intertwined with ours that He simply can never leave us. This certainly bears more investigation!

In a book near and dear to my heart, Behold, I Stand at the Door and Knock, the author says that the only thing that is ours is our misery and that is the only thing God wants from us.

Once again, I am amazed. I’m amazed that a God who made everything would want my misery—and then when I give it to Him—He turns it into joy.

Today I giggled in the fact that I don’t know God’s plan for me. I smiled at the fact that God’s nature is embedded in me, and then I chucked at the fact that it took me so long to get here.

Prayer and Physics

I know I promised we’d talk more about Roe v. Wade and the science of abortion, but I’m going to first talk about physics and prayer. I’ll talk more about Roe v. Wade next week.

I recently found out about something called, “Healing the Family Tree.” It’s an interesting philosophical concept that allows people to consider praying for healing in their family and healing for the generations before them. Different huh?

Well, before you go ballistic, think about this. What would you do if you could go back in the past and explain to someone from your family tree how the hurts they caused others still hurts the family today? Would you go back?

Well, you can’t. Physics doesn’t allow it.

But…what if you could send grace to the past? What if you prayed for healing for those who were hurt and asked that they not pass it onto the future generations? Would you do it?

Sound impossible. Well, for humans it is. But, not for God. You see, we’re restricted to space and time. That’s the reality of the third dimension. But time is a creature created by God and therefore not something that restricts God. So consider that such a concept is possible. Prayer isn’t restricted to physics!

Doesn’t that open up tons of possibilities? Healing from abortion, healing from incest, healing from child abuse, healing from family hurts.

So now, imagine with me, what if you sent enough grace to the past that is healed the future. You may alter your own future. Now that’s worth dreaming about, don’t you think?

Read more about this concept here:
http://www.familytreehealing.com/about.html#about

Life and Roe v. Wade

The Supreme Court decision made 37 years ago this week, changed the way that Americans viewed the sanctity of life. Though maybe not at first, but thirty years later, we see the toll that this decision has taken on issues from abortion to euthanasia.

Science has been misused and abused in the name of life issues and I will cover that topic in detail for the next several postings.

However, today, I'm including a paragraph from Benedict XVI, the current Catholic pope. Though I have many thoughts on the life issue, I wanted to include these ideological thoughts as a primer before I start into the science because without philosophy, science is crippled.

"Openness to life is at the center of true development. When a society moves towards the denial or suppression of life, it ends up no longer finding the necessary motivation and energy to strive for man's true good. If personal and social sensitivity towards the acceptance of a new life is lost, then other forms of acceptance that are valuable for society also wither away. The acceptance of life strengthens moral fiber and makes people capable of mutual help. By cultivating openness to life, wealthy peoples can better understand the needs of poor ones, they can avoid employing huge economic and intellectual resources to satisfy the selfish desires of their own citizens, and instead, they can promote virtuous action within the perspective of production that is morally sound and marked by solidarity, respecting the fundamental right to life of every people and every individual."
(from Caritas in Veritate 28. www.vatican.va)

The pope talks about wealthy people understanding the plight of poor people and that an openness to life nurtures such an attitude. To underscore this philosophy, I offer the following link to a news story about a Denver nurse who helped in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake.

Her story shows that even among the awful conditions and status of life lost in Haiti, the birth of one little child impacted her whole life. We can never underestimate the importance of human life no matter what the circumstance.

Life and Symbols

The last couple postings have considered the power of words and the nature of water. What if we consider the nature of water with respect to the nature of Jesus?

Here’s just a few thoughts that come to mind as we await the birth of our Lord Jesus:

The Infant Jesus formed quietly in his mother’s womb, in water. (Luke 1:31)

The Missionary Jesus was baptized by John, in the Jordan River, in water. (Mark 1:9)

The Miracle worker Jesus provided more wine at a wedding in Cana, from water. (John 2:7)

The Healer Jesus cured the blind man by telling him to wash in the Pool of Siloam, with water. (John 9:7)

The Powerful Creator Jesus calmed the torrents of the sea, the water. (Matt 8:26)

The Counselor Jesus commanded his apostle Peter to have enough faith to walk, on water. (Matt. 14:29)

The human Jesus wept in the Garden of Gethsemane, shedding tears of water. (Matt. 26:36)

The soldier pierced the Redeemer Jesus who hung on the cross. From his side came blood, and water. (John 19:34)

There are many ways in which an author knits a story together: allegory, simile, description and symbol. Woven throughout the life of Jesus is the symbolism of water and I believe the Creator, the Ultimate Author interlaced water as a symbol for us. What do you think?

May you have a joyful and peaceful and Merry Christmas.