The Sheltering Tree

I love my mother as the trees love water and sunshine - she helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights. ~Terri Guillemets

My Mother

The tree beckons, and I realize how much I need its sheltering. Scooting to rest my back against the tree, bark uneven pressing into my back but bringing comfort as its familiarity reaches my heart, I feel my body relax. I am home. Home where I am accepted and loved unconditionally. 

This tree is like "trees along a riverbank bearing luscious fruit each season without fail." The roots are ever deepening in the Father's will and love. 

Listening closely, I hear the rustling of  leaves reminding me to search for beauty, find the special in the everyday, and treasure those I love.

It's a listening tree. I know I'm safe in pouring my heart -- my disappointments, dreams, and even the nonsensical. This tree is interested in the books I'm reading, the new magazine I've discovered, and the decor I've changed.

Eleanor's Mother

I hope when I grow up my tree shelters like Mother's. The two I birthed need a rooted tree to sit under when days are hard. They need a tree when their heart is full of joy. And on the days in endless patterns -- one like the last -- they still need a mother-tree.

And I think of my friend, Eleanor, and wish she could spend some time under her mother's tree. I ask God to shelter her with memories from a Godly mother.

For maybe when the tree is cut and the rings counted, the roots remain in the form of memories. And we graft our own trees to shelter a new generation.

Linked to

Thriving Thursday

Faith Filled Friday

Essential Fridays