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Jeremiah 17:7-8

"But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord

whose confidence is in him.

They will be like a tree planted by the water

that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes;

    its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought

    and never fails to bear fruit.”

As I jogged my favorite jogging trail yesterday, the trees caught my attention. The trees that lined the lake were so tall and strong. They reached up to the sky. My Heavenly Father pressed on my heart that trees were like people.

He said we all start out as a seedling. Some are rooted and grounded near a stream, and their life grows strong to be bountiful and fruitful, even from an early age. They grow straight up and reach for the Heavens. While, at the same time, a tree that is not planted by water, may wither away, usually bearing small branches and leaves, and eventually dying having never reached its full destiny.

I was 35 years old when I finally gave my life to the Lord, and I just turned 60 this past April. My life has not exactly turned out the way that I wanted it to. It has been much harder, with trails both God given and self-inflicted.

But God is a good and gracious God!

Jesus calls us to not live a life of regret because he uses our tough seasons and poor decisions to create us into who he intended us to be.

I am forever grateful that God can take our past and recreate our future using the broken pieces that are left and replant our roots near water, so to speak.

As I continued my jog, I saw a small, beautiful tree in a neighbor's yard. My Heavenly Father pressed on my heart that this tree was symbolic of my life.

The tree was not planted right by the water but a bit farther away from the water. It was thin and healthy but not as bountiful as the ones growing beside the water. My neighbor had carefully pruned it through the years helping it grow into all it could be by removing any limbs that would hinder its health and growth year after year.

What stuck out to me the most was that a small sprout of a limb was growing out of the tree where a branch had been previously removed, (which was the limb trying to regrow itself). Anyone looking at the tiny scraggly limb growing awkwardly from the side of the tree would know that the owner would eventually remove this limb, too.

My Heavenly Father pressed that I have always wanted to live life on my own terms, (kind of like the scraggly branch bursting forth in its own will with no future of flourishing) and grow in ways that were not beneficial to it.

A bible verse came to my mind as He continued to press harder. "It is written in Proverbs 3:6 "I will direct your path." It does not say, "I MIGHT direct your path."

I looked at my neighbor's tree once again...The top of the tree was flourishing. The tops of the branches kissed the sunlight, and the top branches would never again be in a position where they would be pruned away.

The tops of the branches were also protected by the surrounding branches, so that during wind and rain and thunderstorms, they remained intact. He pressed on my heart that the other branches represented Jesus, and my family and my Godly friends that surrounded me.

As I lifted up my arms to the Lord in prayer as I completed my jog, I gave a prayer of thanksgiving. I had a heart full of hope that God was not through with me yet.

Even though I had not lived a perfect life, and I had made many mistakes along the way I was now rooted and grounded in His love. I still have many dreams and aspirations in my heart even at 60 years old. I now want a life that honors Him for the rest of my days. I may have not planted my life by the water in my youth, but I have chosen Him now and I am like the tree that is near the water. I reach for Him daily for I know that it says in Jeremiah 29:11, that He has great plans

for me. "Not to harm me, but to give me hope and a future." I trust that the Lord will let me finish well in the journey call life, and I pray that He walks with me every step I take until I meet Him at the Pearly Gates at the end of my days.

Let's pray:

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you that you WILL direct our steps. Prompt us to be strong in the power of You, Lord Jesus and to put on the full armor of God each and every day.

We live in a fallen world. Forgive us when we live life without You. Thank You for giving us a choice to either walk beside You in this life or go our own way so that either way we recognize You as our true Lord and Savior. You give us freedom of choice because we are not robots. You never said that life would be easy, but You did say that You will never leave us or forsake us. You use every decision we make and everything that we experience in life to mold us and create us to be more like You. Thank you, Jesus, that You are the way, the truth and the life. There is no greater God than You! Thank You for leading us and guiding us like no one else can. Father, continue to show us how to trust in You, and for showing us that we can reach to You to be like a tree planted by water, to have no worries in a year of drought and to never fail to bear fruit and honor You all the days of our lives.

We praise you, Father, 

Amen.

Written by, Caroline Hotmer, Founder of AlzLove