Timber!

Two nights ago, while my husband was at a Bible study, I decided to cut down the magnolia tree in from of our condo. We have been talking about it for awhile, and so I thought I would get a start and trim the lower branches to make it easier when we actually cut it down. I knew that Todd had a hatchet in his Army gear that he mentioned we could use if we decided to go after it before we could borrow my dad’s chain saw. So, while still in my work clothes, I started whacking.



I quickly realized that this wasn’t something I was going to be able to just ‘quit’ on after a little while, so I set my mind to chopping down the tree. I was really nervous about which direction it would fall, but I remembered watching my dad and brother cut down some trees and decided the best angles to use. And that was that. I cut down the tree!



It took me about an hour and half to get the whole thing down and to haul off the top and remaining branches. While I was cutting, I was thinking about how difficult it was to cut down that little tree. Not to mention getting the roots up! (Which Todd and I did last night) It was only about 6 inches in diameter. I couldn’t help but think about the passage in Psalm 1.

1:1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.

4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.


How easy it is for us to be blown to and fro like the chaff!
I want to delight in the Lord and have strength of even the smallest tree! I want to glorify my King. Only He can give me that strength, through His Word and through His Spirit working in me.

I just finished reading “The Silver Chair”, the second to last book in the Chronicles of Narnia. Jane is one of the children in that book, and her primary objective is to remember Aslan’s instructions and carry them out. In the beginning she repeats his instructions to her over and over again, but throughout the book, she is distracted by things of this world and soon forgets his simple instructions. I love the illustrations in both the Silver Chair and in the strength of the tree. I don’t claim to be a Theologian. There is much to talk about with both, but for now, I just want to encourage you as I have been encouraged.
Delight in the Lord, He is our strength!