LOOK TO THE TREES

Hi everybody,

Last weekend was my precious mom's birthday so I decided a fun gift for her would be ME in the flesh...thankfully, she was so excited, she squealed over and over! (I know, like Mother, like Daughter :) So, here I am soooooo very blessed to be in Michigan for 4 short, beautiful days with my family.

As I stepped off the plane in Western Michigan, I was absolutely shocked by the nipping cold that greeted me. What a huge vacillation from Florida's 90 degree warmth! I must say, this trip has been total confirmation that, while I will always be a Michigander at heart, I am a Floridian in nature :)

Though it's only the end of September, the colors are beginning to change all around me here in the north. As fall's cool winds have settle in the area, leaves are starting to turn and the glimmers of summer are fading away.

As you may know, I'm hard at work on my devotional book and I thought I'd share a little nibble from the piece I was constructing today entitled, "Look To The Trees." I pray it would bring you encouragement amidst the changing climates and seasons your life may be facing today...


"...Seasonal trees are forced to endure the coldest of tempests, snow, and biting climates. In the bitter winter, trees are made to lay barren and naked where they once stood decorated in splendid greens, flowers, and fruit. From one season of bounty to the next completely undressed of everything, it seems the trees are stripped bare out of punishment, disrobed of all glory and apparent purpose. But, this is all part of the plan, part of their life’s cycle. They are standing tall, allowing a sway for the harsh winds of seasons. When it is time again for spring to peek up from frozen ground, each plant knows what to do when it is their time to grow and bloom. They inherently know when to awaken again to produce new life.

"Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are His. He changes times and seasons…” Daniel 2:20-21

Realize that God’s hand and breath changes the seasons; you do not. You cannot force the growth you want to see in yourself or in the people and world around you. You can’t drag your heels, pushing against life’s seasons because each is meant to turn in its proper time. You were not created to stress about the changes you experience in each season and you shouldn’t analyze every detail that shifts from day to day, week to week. Stand firm in your faith and rest all of your human thoughts, cares, worries, anxieties, and yearning for control upon Jesus, your Solid Rock..."


Amidst your current season and situations, I pray God will make Himself known to you in a very specific, special way today!

In His Love,
Katie Marie