Thank you so much for all the prayers, love, and support. I am a lot more at peace with what's happening to mom. I know that is a direct result of prayers sent up on my family's behalf - so thanks again. Keep up the good work.:) Another reason I feel much more at peace comes from a verse I found in Isaiah.
Isaiah 61:3 . . . and provide for those who grieve in Zion to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. (NIV)
Love that analogy - God's people as oaks; big, strong, difficult-to-bring-down oaks. There are a couple of psalms that I've noticed compare believers to trees. And while we're on the topic of trees, have you ever noticed how often a reference to trees is made in the bible? Okay, well it's not a lot. But it's significant enough that I thought I'd use it for today's entry.
Genesis 3:22 And the Lord God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.(NIV)
My husband is really into a show called The Living Dead. Basically, it's about zombies, but it's much more complex than that. Anyway, after he'd explained the plot to me I thought about what it would be like to live like that forever. All of us the "walking dead", which, when you think about it, that's what we are apart from Christ. All of us moaning, groaning, and walking around with no end in sight. And all I can say is - not me. No way would I want to live like that forever - in my imperfect body, with my imperfect bipolar brain. No, when I really think about it, I get why God wouldn't allow us to live forever in this state - the walking dead. Which leads me to the next verse about trees, or specifically about a tree - the one that changed everything.
Acts 5:30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead - whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. (NIV)
Interesting that it all started with a tree - the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - the one no one was supposed to eat from. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. After all, God has a way of taking something that's cursed and turning it into a thing of beauty - just like that tree that Jesus hung on. The tree that kept us from becoming the eternal "walking dead".
Fortunately for us, that's not the end of all this talk about trees. You see, there is a tree of life waiting for us. One that we will be able to eat from. (Revelation 2:7) One that will heal not only our bodies but also our souls. And the best part of eating from this tree of life? We'll be spending eternity in a perfect place, our paradise; no more dying, no more crying, no more pain, no more walking dead. What's more, this tree of life's leaves will be used to heal us like no one and nothing else can.
Rev 22:2-3 . . . On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any
curse . . . (NIV)
Yup, it all started with a tree, and, I guess you might say it all ended with one too. God has a way of using evil and turning it for good. So when I think about my mom, I feel a sense of peace. Yes, she's really suffering, yes, she has pain. But it will be temporary. And, because of Jesus she will spend her eternity not in a place of suffering, but in the beauty of paradise. So ends the story of the three trees, the tree that condemned us, the tree that redeemed us, and the tree that will give us eternal life - not the walking dead kind, but the joyful living kind. No more zombies. No more moaning and groaning. Which makes me happy, because, quite frankly, zombies have always given me the creeps.
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