growing growing

Growing, Growing, Growing

At first glance, you may wonder why I have posted these Pictures. What are these things anyway? This must stem out of spending time with a landscaper. These are cypress trees- cupressus. If you are willing to, you can learn something new everyday. But many times we must put ourselves in a position to be able to see. This is not an advertisement or anything of that sort, but rather a compliation of several thoughts that are best depicted through these pictures of growing trees. Let me try to first explain the title.

After reflecting on this past year, I feel like everything in my life is growing. I explained to Donny that my eyes are growing in order to allow me to see more and my heart is expanding, and larger than it has ever been. God is enabling me to see more and to gain wisdom and insight from others. God is calling me to something bigger than myself and using people, circumstances and experiences to enliven each day.

I was drawn to this first picture because it illustrates that God's hands are holding us. What happens if we spend time with the Father? Healing, joy, comfort, rest, peace (just to name a few).

Next, I chose this picture of the small trees growing together. It shows community. Being together is better than being alone. May our love for one another be genuine and may we honour one another (Romans 12:9). The Scriptures call us to grow in the knowledge of God. (Colosians 1:10, 2 Peter 3:18)This means to not just know about God, but to literally step into more of who God is and to scout out his attributes.

I've been asking the question, "Why do people come into our lives?" I've been trying to answer it in a few ways: Firstly, I believe we can learn from everyone we meet. Sometimes we have to look at what this person can teach us and how their life experiences can give us insight. I've also been thinking about how each person conributes to our own life experience. Finally I've been thinking that if each person bears the image of God, he/she must somehow direct us closer to God, revealing something about His character (ie. creativity, intellect, logic, the list goes on...). Do you have any other ideas that I didn't include? I could learn from you.

Finally, I included this last picture to show how big the cypresses are growing (all together, too!). I am including two excerpts from emails. Perhaps I should set the stage a little bit here. I realized after reading this post that it didn't make sense without a brief prologue. D and I have become walking partners. We often reflect on life and wrestle with some of life's big issues that we face and are working through. As I learned in science class today, we are constantly, de-constructing and then re-constructing our understanding of the world around us. We went for a walk the other day (to my favorite place, I must add) and this is a short message from D about his thoughts about that day. "...The best part of the lesson was when we got to the top of the hill at the end of the walk [and] you turned around and said, 'Look How Beautiful This Is' and I said, 'all I see was a farmer's field and I would get hay fever in the summer.' You saw beauty and I saw only grass. Look at what I missed (The beauty that God made). What a lesson you taught me. A person could not buy that lesson, you had to be there. "

[now look at me, trying to tell you about it although you weren't there!]

What he said was truly beautiful, and touched me deeply. We just don't know the impact we have sometimes, especially in the small moments. But the beauty is there. I wish we could capture the beautiful moments in a jar. My life has been increased by having D involved in it. In an attempt to let him know how much he has impacted me (for the good), and I'll try to capture just a few things he has taught me over the last year. He has taught me

~to listen

~ the value of being there for someone through thick and thin

~ the value of taking time to wrestle with things and carefully consider one's words, decisions and actions

~ the need to hear others speak honestly and that sometimes the truth is hard to accept

~ the value of words through spoken and written encouragement and affirmation

~the value of being real. Often times, people are too afraid to be real, probably because they have seldom seen other people expose themselves emotionally and do not know what it means to trust. There is real beauty, however, when we act out of trust instead of fear.

It's amazing which Tall Trees God puts in our lives- Which people we will grow with and grow beside. Sometimes we come across the most interesting Tall Trees, "unlikely friends" but truly Kindred Spirits who are meant to share part of the same stretch of land with us. Let's not be afraid to grow with one another.