God's Spotlight

A couple weeks ago, I was sitting at the breakfast table, spending time with God.  It was a rainy, cloudy morning and I was feeling a bit down and stressed.  As I looked out the window, all of a sudden, sunshine burst through the clouds and lit up my backyard with a golden glow.  My tears turned to smiles as I recognized God's, "Good morning, my child.  Know you are loved!"

One tree at the back of my yard seemed to glow.  It stood out from all the other trees.  One side looked like it had been painted a fluorescent greenish color that shone in the sunlight.  I look out that window ever morning and I had never seen that color on the tree.  I recognized that God was particularly pointing out that tree to me and impressing a message on my heart (Thank you, Lord!).

The bright green on the tree is some sort of lichen that was reflected in the bright sunlight.  I felt God saying to me, "You see that lichen?  It lives off of the tree.  If it falls off the tree to the ground, it dies.  It gets it's life and nourishment from the tree.  It grows and thrives attached to the tree."

I was reminded of the verses, "Without Me, you can do nothing," and "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  Like the lichen, I need to stay attached to the Lord in my daily life, for it is He who nourishes my soul and gives me strength to do the things I need to do.

By this time, I was praising God and enjoying the assurance that He is right there with me - always.  We are so blessed to have such an almighty Father God Who keeps the universe spinning smoothly, yet cares enough to shine a beam of sunlight on a particular tree, at a particular moment and impress His needy child with the assurance that He cares about every detail of her life.

Thank you, Lord, for such an all-encompassing love!