Rooted and Established in Love

I've recently become intrigued by a tree near our farm…or is it two trees? I’m not a horticulturist so I really don’t know - I haven't inspected it below ground level (The neighbors would probably think I'm strange since it isn't my tree).

This tree appears to actually be two trees that decided to work closely together. One trunk is sturdy and looks like it has been growing longer than the other; or maybe they started out at the same time and one was better suited to the ground from which it grew.

For me, this tree is a beautiful depiction of marriage. Two people choosing to intertwine their lives, their assets, their very beings into one. They share the seasons and are sustained by the same soil and environment. Each season brings different challenges and joys, various struggles and growth. These trees will never be separated except by the death of one or both.

This current season is cold and seemingly lifeless; and the trees, devoid of any evidence of actively growing, cling together and weather the season. I wonder what is happening during this dormant stage these trees go through each year...perhaps it is similar to times in marriage when things are less than fun, warm and friendly. When a couple is committed to God and to each other, there continues to be growth even when we can’t see it. Simply by staying together, something is happening…shared memories, resources, and relationships…things that shape a couple even when they are not aware. God is always at work conforming us in the image of Christ. I praise Him for the promise that He will not stop until the work is complete (Philippians 1:6)!

Ephesians 3:14-21 (NIV)

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.