Happy Father's Day

"But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water.  Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought.   Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit."  Jeremiah 17:7-8

We attended a beautiful wedding of close family friends today beneath a canopy of huge, old live oaks by a glassy lake.  The live oaks were twisted and snarled with character--some with moss blowing in the wind that looked like long, gray hair--shaped by the storms and seasons of life.  Each one was vastly different from the next, though all were beautiful and fit so perfectly together in the setting by the lake, behind a stately lodge.

It was a typical hot and humid day in Texas, yet beneath the shade and breeze of these lush old live oaks, the Texas summer seemed to melt away into a pleasant place of peace.

I couldn't help but admire the vast differences in the many trees.  One tree near the center was majestic, with five large, sturdy branches emerging from its trunk.  Each branch twisted high into the sky.  Another nearby was just one large branch that crooked steeply to one side, as though caught in some strong wind for an extended time.  Still another had two enormously twisted branches with a third that had been lopped off on one side.  I pondered what storms of life had come along to cause each one to be shaped as it was.  Children were flitting about, picking bark from off the trees where they could reach it, tossing it to the ground; and, I wondered how that small act had effect on each tree.

The majestic tree in the middle reminded me of my father.  Throughout his life, he has made the Lord his hope and his confidence, and though he has encountered many storms in life, and times of drought and drudgery, his life has never stopped growing, reaching, producing fruit for our Heavenly Father.  Though he is nearing the age of eighty-five, his leaves are still green.  Basking in the shade of his wisdom and continuous love for God, I find life's summer heat melt away into a pleasant place of peace when I am around him.  His example is a blessing and inspiration to me. 

The Holy Bible says in Proverbs 16:31, "Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained by living a godly life."  While I may color my own gray hair away, it is only by God's wisdom imparted to me by both my mother and my father that I have been blessed to see an age where I have any gray hair at all.

Whether our earthly father is a shining example or not, we should all follow the example of Jesus to become everything He desires.  

And, may our roots reach deep into the water, so as not to be bothered by life's storms.

Happy Father's Day, Runners.