LEAVES
(MARY E. ADAMS)
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...
DEAR READER: Thank you for taking the time to read this. If it has ministered hope, encouragement or insight to you in any way, would you please take the time to send Mary Adams a quick E-mail at meamin@mtaonline.net and share the blessing with her? She would love to hear from you!
If this testimony has touched you in some special way, would you please share it with us? Email us at: ptoffice@precious-testimonies.com
Are you at peace with God? If not, you can be. Do you know what awaits you when you die? You can have the assurance from God that heaven will be your home, if you would like to be certain. You can even have that assurance RIGHT NOW! Either Jesus Christ died for your sins, or He didn't (He did!). Are you prepared to stand before God on the Judgment Day and tell Him that you didn't need the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross to have your sins forgiven and get in right-standing with God? We plead with you...please don't make such a tragic mistake.
To get to know God, to be at peace with God, to have your sins forgiven, to make certain heaven will be your home for eternity, to make certain that you are in right-standing with God right now ... please click here to help you understand the importance of being reconciled to God. What you do about being reconciled to God will determine where you will spend eternity, precious one. Your decision to be reconciled to God is the most important decision you'll ever make in this life, because in Christ, it is impossible to put a value on the worth of your soul in light of eternity.
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Remember: All that we do in this life comes back to our God-given purpose which is to serve and glorify God. The money and assets we accumulate, the fame and power we've attained or seek to attain - all of the things of this nature will one day pass away, but those lives of others we impact for Jesus Christ will last for eternity, and we will be rewarded for the part we helped play by impacting those lives ... for eternity. (Matthew 6:19-21 is our assurance)