A Leafy Canopy

(This devotion was first published in The Secret Place.)

The nature trails near my city home meander through the woods. Beneath overarching branches of walnut, cottonwood, ash, and other trees, I walk in shade, the leafy canopy protecting me from the summer’s heat. Here I enjoy temperatures ten degrees cooler than the sunnier pathways.

As I walk, I listen for the breaking of twigs, signaling me to look for deer. Recently, I heard a different sound, one I hadn’t heard before. At first I couldn’t place it, but then reality dawned: raindrops pattered on the leaves. The summer shower was light and the leafy canopy caught all the drops. I didn’t feel one. The green over my head protected me from both heat and rain.

While I walked, listening to the pattering rain, I thought about God’s protection. He doesn’t always remove the storms, but like a leafy canopy, he deflects the heat of life’s difficult moments and shelters us from life’s storms. Just as I choose to walk in the shade on hot days, I have choices for my life’s path. I can seek God’s refuge when life gets hot or stormy, or I can walk in the open, on my own.

Which path will you choose?

O Lord, keep me walking on your path; keep me trusting in your protection.

Isaiah 25:4 “You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his

distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.”