Another Sunday on our Australian adventure found us out in the Red Centre at Ayers Rock. After our breakfast on a sand dune as the sun rose, we rode through the desert to the Rock as our guide explained the flora and fauna of the area.
I had been disappointed that we hadn’t had a more “spiritual” experience at the sunrise. I was sure that was where I would find my worship time. Instead it was while riding through the brush and bushes and sparse trees.
We stopped by one of the larger trees called a desert oak. The tree was said to be about 400 years old and on its softly needled branches, we could see small round pods a bit like pine cones except completely sealed. Our guide explained that fire was an integral part of the regeneration of the desert. These pods needed heat in order to pop open and release their seed. Other plants needed to go through a fire to regenerate as well. The fire gets rid of the old growth and the roots of the plants then give new life.
The scripture that speaks of fire refining us came to mind. While I’ve always thought of it in terms of making gold and precious metals pure, this brought a whole new meaning to it. We go through trials/fire and sometimes parts of us die (like pride) in the process and new parts are born (like deeper faith). Other times our trials release seeds that create new growth in others as they see us go through trial.
But God wasn’t done with his lesson yet that morning. Our guide continued to explain how the desert oak spends many years of its young life sending down a tap root to securely anchor itself with a source of water. Once that is accomplished, the tree can begin to concentrate growth on the branches above the ground.
How like us who need to tap into the Living Water and anchor ourselves there before we try to branch out in life. What a worshipful morning!
I had been disappointed that we hadn’t had a more “spiritual” experience at the sunrise. I was sure that was where I would find my worship time. Instead it was while riding through the brush and bushes and sparse trees.
We stopped by one of the larger trees called a desert oak. The tree was said to be about 400 years old and on its softly needled branches, we could see small round pods a bit like pine cones except completely sealed. Our guide explained that fire was an integral part of the regeneration of the desert. These pods needed heat in order to pop open and release their seed. Other plants needed to go through a fire to regenerate as well. The fire gets rid of the old growth and the roots of the plants then give new life.
The scripture that speaks of fire refining us came to mind. While I’ve always thought of it in terms of making gold and precious metals pure, this brought a whole new meaning to it. We go through trials/fire and sometimes parts of us die (like pride) in the process and new parts are born (like deeper faith). Other times our trials release seeds that create new growth in others as they see us go through trial.
But God wasn’t done with his lesson yet that morning. Our guide continued to explain how the desert oak spends many years of its young life sending down a tap root to securely anchor itself with a source of water. Once that is accomplished, the tree can begin to concentrate growth on the branches above the ground.
How like us who need to tap into the Living Water and anchor ourselves there before we try to branch out in life. What a worshipful morning!
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