trees

I was running the other day because it was a deliciously balmy day for January in Missouri, and I was especially struck by the trees. The trail that I was running on goes through a bunch of lovely trees and foliage and over a little creek. Just being in nature on such a day is pleasant, but running in nature gives me a chance to gain perspective. 

I was thinking about the trees and how tall and strong and old they are, and it seemed impossible that such trees could come from a tiny seed, but each one did. Every growing thing in nature comes from a little, tiny seed, and they don't stop growing. They may stop for a season, but when Spring comes, they are right back at it. I'm sure this is why God gave us the instruction to rule and subdue the earth because otherwise we would be living in an overgrown forest. 

Anyway, back to the trees. As I was struck by how such a big tree could grow out of such a small seed, I was reminded of how Jesus compared faith to a mustard seed. If we have just a mustard seed of faith, He said, we can ask for impossible things (like mountains moving) and they will be accomplished. 

I felt like I came to a new understanding of this because a seed has potential. A seed grows. If we have just that tiny, little seed of faith, God can cause it to grow into a tall, strong, and deeply rooted tree. I look at my faith, and it seems so small, but then I remember, I am just a sapling right now, and I am not done growing yet.