By Judy Villanueva

“I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
  From where shall my help come?  My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”  (Psalm 121)

“…with God, all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

I have a hundred pictures of trees growing out of rocks!  It catches my attention like a burning bush and shouts “Hope” to my soul!  My husband and I have literally planted over a hundred trees in the last ten years.  We’ve watered them, fed them, and have spent hours weeding, pruning, and protecting them.  To my dismay, maybe a third have survived!  The large pine under the eaves, on the other hand,  has been pushed completely over by ice sliding off the roof more than once and now stands taller than the roof.  One of our healthiest aspens was severed in half by another ice slide and grew back with such vigor that it now also rises above the roof offering abundant shade each morning.  I’m no arborist, but the common denominators seem to involve hardship and lots of water!

As for trees that grow out of rocks, I can only surmise that God loves life and can call it to rise up…even from the hardest places!

I stand before trees with rocky birthplaces in silence, awe and incredulity!  I take pictures of them to remind myself that God can do anything!  I come from a family that tends to be rather practical, which is a tremendous asset when it comes to making decisions, processing conflict or buying a car.  But, as it relates to matters of faith, being practical seems to tether me to the possible when what I really want to reach for is the “tree out of the rock” impossible! 

I want to hope beyond reason, pray for miracles, and watch breathlessly for God to interrupt my practical expectations with a divine thunder that initiates an impractical faith!

It helps me to remember, that once upon a time, a Father called forth life from behind a stone that covered a tomb…that held a beloved Son.  Was it a whisper or did He shout, “Arise!”?  The stone was rolled away and beneath the burial cloth, a heart began to beat and the sound of God breathing filled the air!  Listen!

Can you hear the sound of God breathing over your life today?

Rest.  He is.  Truth is that sometimes all we can do is lean back into the hard places, drink in God’s presence, and wait for Him to help life break through.   In the meantime, we can lift our eyes to the mountains, marvel at trees that grow out of rocks, and let them shout “Hope!” to our souls.  We can trust that God loves us.   He can do what we cannot and with Him, all things are possible.

“Lord God, breathe into our weary hopes and help us through our trials.  Grow trees out of rocks and do the impossible according to Your good will!  Help us to trust that You love life…our lives, each one!  Strengthen us and sustain us as we wait for life to break through.  Amen.”

What about you?

 Can you hear the sound of God breathing over your life today?

Do you need God to do something that seems impossible? 

What catches your attention and reminds you that you can trust God?

Do you have a practical faith or one that breathlessly waits for God to do the impossible?

Worship

(Dedicated to Steven, Trina Beaumont and my little brother)