A Place to Meet

Today I did something crazy. For those of you who know me, you know that's not unusual! I took a lawn chair, my bible, and a notebook--and pulled up to a path of trees. I've walked this path before, as it sits on the edge of a giant paved parking lot next to my beloved church. What fascinates me is this chunk of land is now forgotten. It used to have a farm on it, and from the look of the worn path, possibly a barn. It must have been a grand site. There's a stunning dirt road carved out of stately trees that line what was probably an orchard strewn walkway leading to a farmhouse that once sheltered a family. People homesteaded this land decades ago, long before they knew that one day a church the size of a small city would sit on their humble stretch of land.

It was on this land that I had a "tree meeting" with God. Before you assume I've lost my mind...let me explain. Several months ago I was reeling from a large dose of insecurity. So many questions fighting for validity in my mind. "Am I smart enough to continue to write books?" "Now that I'm in the big leagues of writing, can I keep up with the demands and the work load?" "What if I fail, and let everyone, including God, down?" With the force of a linebacker, the questions keep knocking the breath right out of me.

One day I came upon a scripture that seemed to spread ointment over my chaffed soul.
"Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, For she 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." Jeremiah 17

For months I kept looking for "my" tree. I pictured a fabulous oak stretched out over a trickling creek. I thought it may be in the mountains, or on a running trail that I would lean up next to and call mine. After looking for that tree for seven months, I was stunned to find it in a paved parking lot.

Every Monday morning before the sun would rise I would walk this lot, praying for God to shine His favor on the speaking and teaching I would deliver in that church on Monday evenings. Boy did He show up! One week as I strolled the lot praying, I looked up at the string of trees that somehow I had missed for months. As I meandered through them, the sun seemed to shine so thick over one of the tree's branches that it looked like it was coated in gold and caramel--gooey enough to lick and bright enough to grab sunglasses to block the glare. I stood there speechless, and quietly uttered a prayer, "Is this my tree God?" The goosebumps on my skin told me it was.

So this morning I plopped a lawnchair in the back of my jeep, and sat down next to my tree for some time of peaceful insight and praise. The questions that beat me up still surface now and then, but I know the truth that silences them. I nudged next to my tree outlined by a black paved parking lot and busy highway...relishing the new place I have to meet with God. Sometimes He shows up in unexpected paths and parking lots...

Blessings!
Gari