These were the two birthday presents I received from two friends at church. The ink drawing on the right is called, “Evergreen.” Her drawing isn’t what we typically think of as an evergreen tree. She drew it without a reference picture, but she grew up in Korea where there are many juniper trees. That’s what the evergreen tree is on the left. They were separate gifts but distinctly similar to one another.
The friend who gave me the tree said it was the kind of tree that Elijah rested under, and “rest” became my word for the tree. The woman who did the drawing said I reminded her of “evergreen” because of my steadfast joy.
As I meditated on the gifts and their words, I thought about trees and how God designed them to receive what they needed. They don’t eat or drink. They just receive. It’s the water that comes into the tree, being perfectly created to climb up into the tree and reach the tips of each branch, bringing the nutrients from the soil with it to perfectly nourish the branches and cause them to bring forth fruit in its season.
And what about those nutrients? They come from being planted in good soil. The Lord Himself plants His people and I would say Jesus is our “good soil” which brings the multiplied harvest. Our place is just to remain, abide, rooted in place, rooted and grounded in the love of Christ, a love that gives entirely of itself. It’s a love worth opening yourself up to receiving, to drinking in. It will bring life, evergreen joyful life, to your soul.