A tree. A tree who is planted not in the middle of dry paddock, but here, by this river. Look – look at the way its long green leaves stand out a little as they grow, cool and plump against a cloudless blue sky. Lie against its body and feel the cool smooth bark; hear the ring of the cicadas and the wings of the cockatoo as it flaps overhead. Close your eyes and rest a moment; drink in the example of the tree, who is happy because it is planted by the water.
I drove up to the Strathbogies on Saturday with my mind a-whir, excitedly spinning after a wonderful day of dreaming and visioning with some of my new friends at Murrumbeena Uniting. I was off to see a friend get ordained in Benalla, and I decided to camp nearby, to spend some time in stillness. I busily set up a tent and cooked my dinner before sundown, and it wasn’t until the next morning, after I’d watched the local family of magpies over my morning cup of tea, that I discovered the creek. I took off my boots and played amongst rocks, hopping from one to the other, balancing, feeling the rough granite under my soft city feet. I ventured a bare foot under a tiny waterfall, bubbling between rocks, and I smiled: the kind of smile that you smile when we set down our backpack – as full as good things as it is! – and begin to rest.
And so as we gear up for another year, bursting with the possibility of all that might be, I remember the words from Jeremiah:
Blessed are those who trust in the LORD,
whose trust is the LORD.
They shall be like a tree planted by water,
sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
and it does not cease to bear fruit. (Jer 17:7-8)
The temptation, of course, is to work frantically to make our vision a reality: to “trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh [our] strength” (Jer 17:5). But to trust only in ourselves is to be a “shrub in the desert”. It is to live a hard, dry existence.
We are called to an easier way! Easier because all we have to do is be mindful of where we are planted. Difficult, of course, because we are required to trust. To trust this living source of water. To trust the source of all things. This is the still, careful work of discipleship: the work that calls us to constant love, forgiveness, justice, prayer and rest. We are asked to bind ourselves to freedom; to die in order to live. It’s the easiest and the hardest thing of all.
Words by Rev Andreana
Image by Marg Edwards
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