There’s a magnolia tree down at my great grandmother’s house that my cousins and I used to play in when we were younger. We would climb up high in its branches with granddaddy longlegs on what seemed like every leaf and just play for hours. I spent many summers and family dinners in that tree hanging on the lower limbs and seeing who could get closest to the top. Somewhere buried in boxes in a closet are several pictures of me in that tree.
This past week, my mom and I went down to my aunt’s house, who lives next door, and I caught of glimpse of that tree after many, many years. It is massive. It covers the corner of the yard like a canopy and I bet there are granddaddy longlegs on those big, magnolia leaves that would rival the biggest spider in every rainforest of Brazil. I know they can’t bite you (or so I’ve been told), but my goodness those things are ugly. I can remember my cousins picking one up and threatening to throw it on me. I pwas sure I would die if that thing touched me. I am 41 years old and if I seen one right now, I would be be moving in the opposite direction or IT would surely die.
I’ve been thinking about that tree a lot since Monday. It’s grown a lot over the last 30 years and so have I, I suppose. Maybe not as much as I would like in some areas and then in others, I’ve managed to grow when I didn’t want to…like my waistline. One thing that hasn’t changed on that tree is where it stands. It hasn’t moved. It is still in the same place as it was when I climbed on the branches as an 8 year old little girl…and if I wasn’t scared that a granddaddy longlegs would drag me to the top and eat me for lunch, I would love to climb back in it again.
I can’t help but think as I look at the picture of this tree and ask myself,
“Where do I stand in the world?”
Am I like what scripture says in Jeremiah 17:7-8?
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. They will be a like a tree planted but 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.”
Do I stand firm in my faith?
Am I like what scripture says in 1 Corinthians 16:13?
“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.”
I don’t want to be known for the ugly things in my life…like granddaddy longlegs. I want to be known for the beautiful things…
…a strong branch connected the The Vine.
…roots that go so deep that I will not be moved by the dry seasons of life.
…a faith that is FIRM and guarded because there is an enemy of my soul seeking to steal, kill and destroy.
…a life loaded down with limbs bearing the fruit of the Spirit.
…a buried life of photos of self, so that The One who hung on a tree can exposed to the world.
With God, it’s not about seeing who can get closest to the top. It’s about sitting in the shadow of his canopy of grace.
He TOUCHED me…and I will surely not die.