Uprooted
I got home early today from work, as I do on every Thursday, and when I sat down in my favorite place in our den, I looked out the window and noticed something very different. It took me a minute to figure it out though. Usually when you look out our sliding glass doors in the den, you see two big trees and then more apartments. Not very interesting, but I always enjoy seeing the squirrels play in the trees (we have crazy squirrels around our apartment complex). Other than the crazy squirrels, I most enjoy hearing the birds chirp.
If you know anything about me, you know I like to hear birds chirp...for several reasons. Hearing birds chirp remind me that,
"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?" Matthew 6:25-26
The first time God made this verse real to me was in college one day when I was walking to class worrying about everything at the time, from doing well on an exam to how I was going to pay my upcoming bills. He reminded me of the verse above and He took care of me. Later on when I got to Lubbock as a student missionary and began to worry where God was going to lead me to after leaving Lubbock, God nested a birdy outside my window who layed eggs that hatched several more birdys...reminding me that He would take care of me...and He did.
I say all this, because I've gotten very accustomed to hearing those chirping birds perched on the trees outside our apartment window. I've especially enjoyed them chirping this past week and feel like they have gotten louder since we've decided we are going to Florida...God reminding me, that He is and will continue to take care of us as we uproot and make this transition.
So you can imagine my dismay when I realized what had changed outside our den window was that the trees had been cut down! My first thoughts were shock, then sadness and then frustration...all because two big trees had been cut down outside our apartment! Silly I know, but all I could think about was, "those apartments are not that pretty to look at...why did they have to cut down the trees?!" I was bummed because all of a sudden I realized this might mean, no more chirping birds either.
As I sat there looking out a little bit longer though, I realized the sun shining in so much more than it had before. It got me thinking, that maybe those trees needed to go. Afterall, they did look really crammed out there between two huge apartment complexes. Maybe they were in the way, maybe they were dying because of lack of room to grow, maybe they might become a threat to the foundation of our apartment buildings. So then I thought, maybe uprooting the trees was a decision made for preventative maintenance. I will miss hearing those birds chirping and watching the crazy squirrels but it does seem nice now to have the extra bit of sunlight coming in our windows.
Maybe there are some areas that need to be uprooted in our lives. Some areas of sin that could threaten our foundation. I feel like we might be in a time of reflection in order to realize those areas of sin that need to be uprooted in our lives.
So maybe uprooting isn't always a bad thing.
It changes everything.
But it isn't bad.
It's actually healthy.
Jenny
If you know anything about me, you know I like to hear birds chirp...for several reasons. Hearing birds chirp remind me that,
"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?" Matthew 6:25-26
The first time God made this verse real to me was in college one day when I was walking to class worrying about everything at the time, from doing well on an exam to how I was going to pay my upcoming bills. He reminded me of the verse above and He took care of me. Later on when I got to Lubbock as a student missionary and began to worry where God was going to lead me to after leaving Lubbock, God nested a birdy outside my window who layed eggs that hatched several more birdys...reminding me that He would take care of me...and He did.
I say all this, because I've gotten very accustomed to hearing those chirping birds perched on the trees outside our apartment window. I've especially enjoyed them chirping this past week and feel like they have gotten louder since we've decided we are going to Florida...God reminding me, that He is and will continue to take care of us as we uproot and make this transition.
So you can imagine my dismay when I realized what had changed outside our den window was that the trees had been cut down! My first thoughts were shock, then sadness and then frustration...all because two big trees had been cut down outside our apartment! Silly I know, but all I could think about was, "those apartments are not that pretty to look at...why did they have to cut down the trees?!" I was bummed because all of a sudden I realized this might mean, no more chirping birds either.
As I sat there looking out a little bit longer though, I realized the sun shining in so much more than it had before. It got me thinking, that maybe those trees needed to go. Afterall, they did look really crammed out there between two huge apartment complexes. Maybe they were in the way, maybe they were dying because of lack of room to grow, maybe they might become a threat to the foundation of our apartment buildings. So then I thought, maybe uprooting the trees was a decision made for preventative maintenance. I will miss hearing those birds chirping and watching the crazy squirrels but it does seem nice now to have the extra bit of sunlight coming in our windows.
Maybe there are some areas that need to be uprooted in our lives. Some areas of sin that could threaten our foundation. I feel like we might be in a time of reflection in order to realize those areas of sin that need to be uprooted in our lives.
So maybe uprooting isn't always a bad thing.
It changes everything.
But it isn't bad.
It's actually healthy.
Jenny
It is such a blessing to have you in my life (both of you) and to know the greatness that the Lord has bestowed upon y'all. I am thankful for your wisdom, your faithfulness in our friendship, and your heart. Thanks for speaking truth, always. This post was definitely an encouragement :)
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