DAy 17 -

I have been looking at the trees around this area remembering and thinking. You see, 3 years ago this past October, we had a horrible storm. I remember lying in bed in the dark just listening. The sound of leaf-covered tree branches breaking because of the weight of the snow on them was the only noise there was. Power was out everywhere. The next day we saw the extent of the devastation - trees that had been standing forever were toppled to the ground and those still standing had had their branches snapped off as if they were mere twigs. It looked like a war zone. So now it is winter, three years later. The trees don't look much different in the spring and summer when they are in bloom. But in the winter you can see the change. As I was looking at them, I could see the new growth. Oh you can still see the damage, but there new life - little shoots of branches. This spring they will be covered, too, with leaves. I guess it's like life with Christ. When we are in sin, we are broken and bent, sometimes knocked to the ground. But then He comes in, fills us with new life, trims us up and we being to grow.........He always has a plan for us no matter the circumstances we come to Him in. He takes the broken, the bent and the fallen and make all things new in Him. He is a God of total restoration. Nothing is too hard for Him. So this spring, when the leaves are on the trees again, I will remember, when I want to doubt, that God is very good.