Winter Trees
Read: 1 Samuel 16:7
“... for the Lord does not see as
mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks
on the heart.”
Coming out of church after worship
one wintry Sunday, I headed for my car at the back of the parking
lot. As I approached my car, I looked up at several large trees at
the back of the lot, devoid of any leaves. All I could see was the
structure of the trees, the trunks, the limbs, the smaller branches.
I thought how stark the trees looked without the cover of Spring and
Summer. How drab they looked without all of the colors that so many
of us Michiganders flock up North to see in the Fall. Then, it hit
me. Here was a perfect example of what 1 Samuel 16:7 says. As Samuel
reviewed the sons of Jesse to see who would be selected to be king,
the words of the Lord came to him, “… for the Lord does not see
as mortals see; they look at the outward appearance, but the Lord
looks on the heart.” Let looking on these winter trees be a daily
reminder to look on the hearts of people we meet every day of the
year.
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for all
the wonders of nature, especially trees, that daily remind us of your
presence and instruct our paths.
Mike Bernhardt
Enjoy this devotional extra:
TREES by Joyce Kilmer
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth’s sweet flowing
breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
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