Part 3 "Cut to a Stump"

People often ask how can I be so strong and confident in my faith? I have just had another personal tragedy, my 4th miscarriage at the 3 month mark. Knowing that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever gives me the strength to carry on. I wake up each morning and open my Bible and remind myself that He is my Rock and will never leave me. I have walked away from Him in the past, but He never left me. I have learned over my life that God doesn't change...people do. I have made a conscience choice to follow Him and allow the growth I need to mature and become more like His Son everyday.

Something amazing happened to King Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 4 of Daniel. It was 30 years after Daniel's buddies were saved from the burning furnace. The king had another dream and he asked Daniel to tell him what it meant. "The tree you saw, which was strong , with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the beasts of the field, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds of the air--you, O king, are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth. You, O king, saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, 'Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground." Daniel 4:20-23

God allows tragedy to strike us that is undeniable. But why? Well, it is impossible to live in this world and not face hardships. Life without pain and sin is Heaven not earth. God uses everything that happens in our lives to grow us and He helps us to overcome whatever we face if we let Him. I love the example of the tree being cut to a stump. King Nebuchadnezzar had an amazing and flourishing kingdom. Historians tell us that Babylon was the richest and most luxuriant Empire of all time. God allowed King Nebuchadnezzar to be cut back to a stump, for the purpose of being stripped of disease and grown back into a glorious sight. "The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules." Daniel 4:26 That is exactly what happened. The king was stripped of almost everything. He finally acknowledged God and praised Him alone. (verse 37)

I have a tree in our yard. This is my favorite tree, a magnolia right outside my bedroom window. Every year we have lived here I have watched it grow and bloom. I take a picture of it in each of the 4 seasons, because it is so beautiful in each one. This is it above when it was in full bloom one spring. We noticed that it was looking sick last year and called the tree guy. He gave me the worst diagnosis, our tree had a soil born virus. The remedy? Cut it down, burn it, and never plant anything there again. I was crushed. I couldn't believe something so beautiful was going to be nothing but a memory. Mike lovingly cut away every branch with the vascular disease. All that was left was a stump and a few branches. It looked dead all fall and winter. Then an amazing thing happened. A few weeks ago we noticed some green growing from the stump!

Little by little we are watching healthy green leaves emerge from the stump and slowly climb up the few branches left. I look forward to the day when I look out my bedroom window again and see my magnolia in its' full and splendid bloom. I have confidence, because I know firsthand that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Nothing is impossible with Him. He wants to grow us all back into the splendor and glory in which we were created.