LEAVES
My little acreage is now full of leaves like
these...golds, reds, all in an assortment of various sizes and shapes.
Not long ago they delighted my eyes with their green shoots in the
springtime...they came forth to make joy leap in my heart; another summer was
in store!
I didn't pay too much attention to them when they
stretched themselves to reach out for the sun's rays and became little
machines to absorb the light and feed the massive trees...they were just doing
their job. And only now do they get my attention as I enjoy their brief
beauty once again. Soon they will be covered in nature's blanket of
snow.
Think with me a moment...let's pretend that the
leaves represent those people you meet in your lifetime...your friends,
family, and acquaintances. They come and they go...but each one
affecting us in a unique way. Yet they all, like the leaves,
eventually "leave", either through death or moving on. We need
them so much...as they influence our lives, bring us comfort and pleasure.
But we, as a tree, will have our times of winter, when we are devastated by
illness or tragedy, and our spirits become so lonely our sap retreats to
our roots to hide from the darkness and chill. No "leaf" seems
to sustain us.
We might have finished this little study...except
for the most important fact of all: without water, none of it...and none of us
would exist at all. Trees will die without water, despite all the work
of its leaves. So when we seek to understand our mortality, we
discover an important truth: that though we live among billions of people
going through the endless cycle of birth and death, it really is not them nor
ourselves, but only the flow of water that keeps anything alive.
Psalm 1:3 tells us that those who do not walk in
the ways of the ungodly but delight in the in the law of the Lord "shall
be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit
in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall
prosper".
How amazing! If we can tap into that water,
we will bring forth fruit, never wither, and in all that we do, we shall
prosper.
How do we find this water? Just like the
woman at the well of Samaria (John 4). Jesus sat beside that well and
asked the woman to give him some water to drink. As she was drawing it up for
him, He said these words: "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall
thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall
never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of
water springing up into everlasting life". He termed it
"Living Water".
Are you today drying up, without hope? Maybe
the "leaves" in your life have fallen off your tree. Friends and
family disappointed you, some you loved dearly have gone from this world. Do
you feel like an old maple waiting your time to fall?
There is good news that your ears need to hear.
This Living Water is available to you...today. It is located in the
place you choose to put your heart. That stream of Living Water only
comes from Jesus. When you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you.
He is the source of all life, for He created it. And just as water
brings us life, it will begin to nourish every part of you, body, soul and
spirit.
I may have had a hard day and my sap has
brought me to a low point. Yet, there is something that is always
nearby...the stream of Living Water. As I stretch my roots to reach
out and drink of it, my strength is then renewed day by day. Life and
hope arise. So many trees fall because their roots remained
shallow. We find them lying on the forest floor...among the dead leaves.
But there are also giants in the earth today
with tree rings dating to the time of Christ...
MARY E. ADAMS
DEAR READER: Thank you for
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insight to you in any way, would you please take the time to send Mary Adams a
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