Trees
Our house is surrounded by trees, both on our property and on the adjoining Council owned park. The Bible says a lot about trees and Jesus based a number of His parables on aspects of trees, – their growth, nurture and fruit.
Jeremiah 17:8 – Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is in the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit.
Psalm 1:3 – That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers.
At the bottom of our gully there is a stream, locally fed by several close springs. In the last 40 years that small stream has never dried up, even in near-drought conditions. After many years of clearing weeds and then cultivating native trees, one of the highlights was to see a Tui using the stream as a bird bath. To date, we have identified 22 different birds but there is still one we can hear, but we have never seen.
The God of creation draws many parallels between our lives and nature that He created. May we draw close and feed on His nourishment, to continue to grow and to bear fruit.

Contributed by Murray Kerr