Category: Winter

Did you know that potatoes,carrots, red beets, onions and other root crops that grow under the ground are like hidden treasures?  While they are growing underground they are like a buried treasure.

In early summer around the middle of June, I can’t wait to see if there are any little red potatoes growing under that green leafy plant.  I will cautiously loosen the dirt underneath the plant to find some evidence of the harvest that is still yet to come.  I will usually find enough small potatoes that will suffice for a meal.  They are a tasty treasure.

We also have hidden treasures growing underground where no one can see.  We are storing up treasures in heaven by our daily deeds.

In Matthew 6:19-21 Jesus spoke to us that treasure here on this earth can rust, be eaten by moths, and thieves can break in and steal it.  Last week a couple told me how their valuable coins that were stored in a safe box in the bank were stolen!  We think if it’s in the bank, it is safe.  Our clothes don’t last, our cars rust, and things can be stolen but what we store in heaven is secure.

So what are the treasures that we store in heaven?  It sounds kind of like an investment that we make for the future.  Investing in people is one way.

This became real to me when I was in the middle of caring for my children.  I was bathing the toddlers one evening and feeling rather exhausted.  The question came to my mind, “What impact am I having in the world?” Then the Holy Spirit brought to my mind these verses from Matthew.  My children were treasures!

I could be working and making money to buy clothes, nicer furniture or cars but those things would all wear out and have no lasting value. In this season of life, I was investing my life in the children that the Lord had given us.

Just like the root crops that are growing underground, we can’t see the total picture of what God has in mind for our children.  We might have a glimpse as we search for the precious fruit that is growing in their lives until they mature to all the plans God has prepared for them.  My husband and I would rejoice when our children made wise choices to follow God’s ways.  Those children are now parents investing in their children.

There are many other ways that we store up treasure in heaven.  I would love to hear your thoughts on this!

 

Evergreens are a beautiful accent in decorating for the Christmas season.  I enjoy the different evergreen bushes and trees on the farm which are readily available for clipping at a moment’s notice. Their fragrance and freshness bring the outdoors inside in the cold, winter season.  A pleasant memory is cutting our Christmas tree from a stand of seedlings that had grown into mature trees.  Now these trees had never been trimmed and shaped so they were often quite round and large!  We had to turn the tree to choose the best looking side to present.  This year I created a small boxwood tree.

An evergreen plant retains green leaves throughout the year.  In the cold climates we think of conifers such as the pine, spruce, etc.  But in more moderate climates there is a greater variety.  The Bible speaks of the olive tree, palm tree, and cedar.

Psalm 52:8 states,  I am like a green olive tree thriving in the house of God;  I trust confidently in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.  A beautiful description of someone who looks to God for their source of strength, providing for their needs, and will praise the Lord for what He has done.  The olive tree is evergreen but it also produces a very desirable oil when the olives are pressed.

 The righteous person will flourish like the palm tree,                                                     They will grow like a cedar in Lebanon,                                                                             Planted in the house of the Lord,                                                                                          They will flourish in the courts of our God.  Psalm 92:12-13

The palm tree can rise 40 or 50 feet on a slender stem with feathery, snow-like, pale green fronds flowing from the top.  Its branches are known as a symbol of victory.  It is interesting that they waved palm branches in Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

In Revelation*, a vast crowd too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, stood before the throne and the Lamb, clothed in white and they held palm branches in their hands.  I love the description of this heavenly scene and the evergreen palm branches were in heaven!

Now the cedar tree was also very stately with long branches and very durable.  What this tree was known for was its wood that was made into boards, pillars, and ceilings.  Solomon’s temple and palace used cedar wood in the construction.  Have you ever smelled the fragrant aroma of cedar which is often used in chests and closets?

And then I love this promise of still being green, with vitality in old age!

                        ** They will still yield fruit in old age;                                               They shall be full of sap and very green,

Why will they be like this?  

                                 To declare that the Lord is upright;                                                                                           He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.      

These verses were written in contrast to those who do their own thing, not following God and it seems that all is going well for them.  Outwardly, they are prospering and are succeeding, which is likened to lush green grass in the spring, growing fast and numerous.  But the grass withers and fades and is no more.   BUT, in comparison, the evergreen trees keep growing, producing fruit, and continue to stand.  There are olive and cedar trees that are hundreds of years old.

So my friends, keep putting your trust in God and you will be evergreen!

* Revelation 7:9     **Psalm 92:14,15