I wish my faith was a weed.
As I look at the trees surrounding my yard, two out of five are giant 30 foot weeds. Scientists say they’re trees but native Ontarians know that Ash trees are actually weeds! Their branches are laden with a ton of seeds. Of all the trees that surround our yard theirs is the only seed that takes root and begins to grow. When you try to pull them up you’ll find the root system to be disproportionately larger than the tree, running deep and connecting with the other seedlings.
Psalm 1 says that in order to be firmly planted and to bear fruit, I need to meditate on God’s word. Jeremiah 17 says that if I put my hope and confidence in the Lord that, my roots will go deep and find water; when life gets hard I won’t have to fear or be anxious.
Growing up I was told to “read your bible pray every day and you’ll grow, grow, grow.” It was also implied that if you didn’t daily read the bible and pray that you would be left behind when the rapture came. That was enough to strike the fear of the Lord in me! I never missed a day or else I spent the next day repeatedly asking for forgiveness of my sins. Looking back on that I think I missed the point of it all. It wasn’t all about making it to heaven, it was so that, here on earth I could make an Ash of myself; living a life that is strong and deep and satisfying; that grows and multiplies, spreading like a weed that can’t be easily uprooted; that provides shade for others. That I would live the life of someone who knows their heavenly Father and does what He does. (John 5:19, Matthew 12:50)
My hope is that more and more people will look my life and say, “What an Ash!”
