Growing Our Faith Together

How different the forest is in the winter!  Looking around the deciduous forest, I notice the tall, dark tree trunks with their branches reaching outward and upward.  Without their covering of green finery, the trees stand like silent skeletons, dominating the landscape.  The air is tomb-like, for many birds have flown south for the winter.  Only an occasional “caw” of the blue jay or “chee” of the meadowlark punctuates the still, quiet air. 

Dead grasses, twigs and leaves litter the forest floor.  Compared to summer’s vibrancy, the forest is lifeless.  Upon more careful examination, I see evidence of life around me. Winter has been mild, so under brown, dead stalks, green grass grows.  Along the chestnut-colored pathway, bright green moss flourishes.  Gray-blue and yellow-green lichen line the tree trunks.  Shelf fungi grow in rotting tree trunks.

These nearly hidden life forms remind me that the forest, although it seems dead in the winter, is very much alive.  Roots reach deep into the soil to nourish the seemingly lifeless trees, grasses and other perennials.  Some of the creatures that inhabit the forest have gone to warmer climates.  Others are hibernating.  Yet this forest is filled with animal life: deer, raccoons, possums, skunks, foxes, rabbits, bobcats and other small animals call this woods home.  They hide as I walk by, but if I am observant, I can see their tracks, for this forest teems with life.

Sometimes our lives seem like the winter woodland landscape.  Sometimes physical problems beset us.  Injury, illness, or the loss of a loved one can make us feel stripped and bare like the winter-time tree.  Other times, we feel spiritually stripped, and we wonder if the springtime of our souls will ever arrive.  At these times, notice the small, green things growing within, in spite of the wintertime circumstances.  The moss still grows, the lichen still cover the bare trees.

Abiding in the soil’s nourishment keeps the trees alive.  Abiding in him through our winters keeps our spirits alive and flourishing.  In the springtime, without fail, buds appear on the trees.  Once again, the branches flourish with the palest yellow-green blush of opening leaves.  Soon, the trees, once stripped bare of their summer finery, will be magnificent in their green gowns of summer.  And when the breezes of summer blow, you hear them whispering “Praise God.  Praise God.  Praise God.”

Oh God, keep me ever aware of your presence, even in the winters of my life.

Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for

the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”