The Tree Outside my Window
by Mary Loudermilk

Ah, the days grow longer, and the scent of spring is in the air. The tree outside my window shows its first buds, a promise of the growth that is to come. I love the freshness of the day after a long spring rain. Its drops soak deep into the earth, providing the needed moisture for the roots of my tree.

The summer days are now hot and dry. The tree outside my window displays its leafy beauty and provides a green canopy of coolness in its shade. I hear the music of the birds that have built their nest in the shelter of its arms. Though the ground is parched, my tree will survive the heat, for its roots reach deep.

Change is in the air. Days are cooler, and the tree outside my window has taken on rich red, gold, and brown hues. Her beauty is breathtaking as she wears her autumn finery. The sounds of laughter drift through my window as children play on the colorful carpet of her fallen leaves.

It is winter now, and the faithful friend outside my window is now bare. Her leaves are gone, and her branches reach starkly to the sky. Although her beauty has changed, her strength remains. Her roots still reach deep into the earth, holding her steady as the winds blow and the cold snow wraps her in its blanket. Deep inside remains the hidden promise of new life.

My life is much like that tree. I came to God in the springtime of new life. There was a freshness and excitement in my experience, a promise of growth and maturity yet to come. It was during the spring that I spent time drinking deeply from the Word and putting my roots deep into the ground.

By summer I had developed a maturity that allowed me to shelter others and guide them into truth and greater knowledge of God. Although there were times of heat and adversity, because I had allowed my roots to grow deep in my relationship with the Lord, I survived. As I kept myself strong with prayer and the Word, I was able to teach and encourage others so they too could achieve maturity in their walk with God.

As the days of autumn approached, my beauty changed but did not diminish. I had now walked many years with the Lord, and He wanted me to mentor those coming behind. It was not enough for me to keep strong myself. God wanted me to impart my knowledge of Him to the generation to come. The children learned as they played at my feet.

It is winter now, and I know that some view me as empty and bare. They do not see that my strength remains. No, not the strength of my physical body, for it has grown frail, but an inner strength that will hold me steady through the cold of winter. My faith remains strong in the Savior I found long ago in the days of spring. Deep inside remains the promise of life—eternal life.

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