Casandra Martin

Looking out my kitchen window, I can see an oak tree. It is a small oak tree. My son started with an acorn and a determination to grow a tree of his very own. He planted the acorn, waiting and watching with the faith of a child for his tree to grow.

My son has big plans for this tree. It is going to be big enough for a fort, tree house, and “no girls allowed” clubhouse. I haven’t quite had the heart to tell him that it will be his grandchildren building those things in the tree. Right now the tree is only about three feet tall.

But he has the right idea. He has learned that God can take something small and make it into something grand, something substantial, and something worth building dreams on.

I look at the tree and see a picture of my heart. In our hurry-up society, we want instant oak trees. But that isn’t the way oak trees grow. They take time to mature, to send roots deep into the soil, and to fulfill all the potential wrapped up in an acorn.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 contains an amazing promise for those of us who feel more like acorns than mature oaks. “But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

My Jesus Resolution today is to stop trying to rush God’s work in my life. He is creating a reflection of Christ in me that is meant to stand sure and strong for a lifetime. It takes time for His transformation to take deep root in my heart. Just as He holds the maturing of an oak tree in His hands, so He holds me. All of His plans, creativity, power, and purpose will come to fruition in my life in His time and in His way. My job is to believe and dream about the possibilities that exist inside every acorn.