There is a line of trees on my daily prayer walk. They’re planted about ten feet apart creating a property border on this south side. They’ve grown relatively quickly and really are quite beautiful, except for one.
While walking the other day, I took notice of this particular tree. Each time I walked by it, it caught my eye. Out of the 15 or so trees planted, this tree looked different. It’s the same species as the other trees, but it’s growing differently. All the other trees are beautiful, full, and a great green. This tree, although green, if you look closely (sorry for my bad photography), you will see quite a few brown spots in it. Parts of the tree were dying off. In fact, it looks like the brown spots are going to take over the tree.
That tree looked sometimes how I feel. You too? There’s lots of green but then the brown spots start to move in and threaten to take over. It’s curious to me how we can somehow go through life feeling vibrant green and flourishing and brown and dying, all at the same time.
We are going to have vibrant green times and brown times in our lives, simultaneously. All of us, no one is excluded, will have blessings and curses at the same time. This is life in an imperfect world. How we handle them reflects Whose we are. We can lean into the green or we can be broken by the brown. Depending on the day, I could go either way. Somedays I’m a great green and some days a broken brown. I don’t think I’m so different than most folks. The difference for believers though is that we get to choose what we will focus on. Just like when we look at the picture of the tree. We either focus on the green or the brown.
A few days later while out celebrating the splendor of the King (I hope you’ve gloried in His incredible handiwork this fall), as I walked by this tree, I saw some brown branches laying on the ground. The tree was still green, reaching tall, but the brown branches had started to drop off. Each day I walk by it, more brown is dropping off the green tree. This reminded me of the incredible love of Our Father. That although we got brown and green going on in our lives, He keeps His Promises, and He is ever faithful, helping us work through the brown with the green.
The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. Lamentations 3:22-23
I don’t know about you, but His promises that He loves, He is faithful, and He is merciful to us, gives me cause to be watchful and expectant for the daily shedding of the brown and the growing of the green. Thank you, Lord!