Out of the ordinary comes the extraordinary

Photo credit:  Aubree Holsapple
Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.  ~ C.S. Lewis

First of all, this photo is awesome!  And big thanks to Aubree for sharing, who graciously allowed me to use this in my post today.  

What a great glimpse of God...what you don't see it?  I guess I'm a freak or something.  Just take a look at this tree.  And now again.

A little known fact about me is that at one point in my life, I worked in a nursery and greenhouse for a season or two (no pun intended.)  I even took some college classes and know the Latin name for a Pin Oak Tree.  That's information you lose if you don't use it, just like those three years of Spanish I took in high school.  

If you don't use Latin, you lose Latin.  Sad really...it's so hard to learn and I never really figured out the knack to it, except hours and hours of memorization.  

I do know some conversational Spanish and know how to ask where the bano is.  Some Latin has that stuck in the insides of my brain too.  And...I also know how to pick out a great photo on Instagram when I see it.  

So how do I see God in this?  

He loves to reveal Himself in our lives.  He captures His character so creatively....

It's one of the oh so lovely characteristics about our Lord.  He doesn't have to show us who He is, but He loves to lovingly and most creatively reveal His character in the things He's made.

Through His creation, He loves to reveal His character.

Don't miss this....this is brilliant.

What better to reflect His beauty than the things, the living, the breathing, the beauties He's created?  

What...all this pretty talk really isn't resonating with you?

What draws me into this wonderful captured glimpse of beauty in this tree is in the eye of the beholder.  Aubree really captured it's beauty from a great perspective didn't she?  

Look at the tree's character that is captured in her Kodak moment.  See..this tree has..

stature

strength

height or maturity in tree years

wide span of branches at the top

high reach to the heavens

shelter for the lower plants

healing in it's scars

Yes, healing.

The wonder of this photo is that it whispers that we have a very creative God who takes the time to dot the landscape with His thumbprints of beauty.

And I haven't even started with the life this tree speaks of...which is the point of this post.

There's healing in this tree.  I can see how it's trunk reflects growth and adversity.  See it's rough texture, it's uneven state of the bark, how it looks all rugged and strong?  This tree has stood the test of time's rough natural slap in the gut.

And just like that in the slaps of this tree's life, it brings healing.

Life can slap us in the gut like this tree has been shaped.  And what we see is an ugly exterior, sticky texture that feels rough to the touch and something we want to cut down and burn.

I see how this tree survived the many winds and storms of adversity and has been strengthened.  The anchor root structure that twists and wreaks a hot mess havoc on the underneath side of the earth.  On the hidden side of adversity, growth has happened too.  And there's life, vibrant life, still pulsating through this tree's sappy core.

There's life in the rough, tough, tested texture.  There's life.

Perhaps you see it too.  I see healing in the rough, tough, tested texture in these days we call life.  And there's growth on the underneath side of our souls.  The deep parts, the parts that are hidden and sometimes are laying dormant.

The winds of change and adversity, the hard-whipping-our-skirts winds, the gale forces that ruin a great hair day type of winds, the gusts that slap our guts until they wrench, those winds are the ones that feel like they are going to break us in half, even snap our hearts in two.  

The winds and storms that press hard and we honestly don't know how we can lean any further into them. Those that continuously press change and growth into our lives.

God's gentle breezy growth breathes life into us, our hearts and causes us to pause and reach to the Heavens to praise our Creative Creator who in His new mercy and grace gives us His portion daily to praise Him.  And helps us lean into and press further into His healing and these changes.

There's life again in something ordinary.  There's life to celebrate and grow and deepen.  And all the earth, our hearts, our souls cry out in a great earthy sigh.  We breathe, we heal, we take a step towards His fullness and wholeness.  And we cling to our roots, and we anchor deep. 

How dreamy...to experience God in such a personal way.  

Looks like my roots are emerging a little.