This devotion first appeared in the Upper Room Magazine in 2020.
That person is like a tree planted by
streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not
wither—whatever they do prospers. Psalm 1:3
My father gave our family a Bradford Pear tree one spring
many years ago. It hardly rained the summer following, and even though I was eight
months pregnant, I went out every day and watered the tiny tree trying to help
it make it through the simmering Georgia heat. The tree has now survived for two
decades.
In the days after my father’s death, I struggled to
find solace and comfort. I often found it while sitting under the tree he gave
us. I’m so glad I made the effort to keep the tree alive all those years ago,
because, when I’m under its spreading shade, God helps me find comfort remembering
that my dad’s influence is much like that tree and that I am still sitting
under it, as well. A Bible teacher for
many years, though he is not physically with me, his counsel and help are. I
still have all that he has poured into me through the years.
Like my dad, I pray I might also leave a lasting legacy for
those to come, that my life will be as that tree providing shelter and help for
generations to come.
Dear Lord, thank you for the influence and teaching of those
who have come before us. Let it inspire us to live our lives in such as way as
to influence future generations for you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
