Trees.
I love trees.
I am passionate about trees.
Trees have played a role in each of my published novels—as metaphors that represent God in some way. Redwood, sequoia, Monterey cypress, Heritage oak, sycamore . . . I didn’t plan to include trees in each novel I wrote, but when I look back, I see a forest, and I realize God had a plan.
Recently, my fascination led me to revisit passages in the Bible where, through the years, I’ve noticed references to trees. What I’ve learned—what I continue to learn as I reread my way from Genesis to Revelation, highlighting every passage that mentions a tree or a facet of a tree—is that God cares deeply about trees. He cares deeply about his creation, the natural world. In fact, more than 250 verses in the Bible reference trees.
Trees, like God, are life-giving and life-sustaining.
Many of my childhood memories are blurred, yet I have clear sensory memories of sharp-scented pines, rustling redwood boughs, and fall leaves cartwheeling across the landscape.
Where is my passion for trees leading? First and foremost, it is leading me to a deeper relationship with our unfathomable Creator. I am awed anew each time I learn more about God and his ways, especially the way he reveals himself through all he’s made. My passion is leading me to write with intention and purpose about trees. In fact, I am working on a project that features trees as a central piece of the plot.
My passion for trees is also leading me to consider ways I can care for God’s creation. This is, I confess, a fairly new line of thinking for me. But it’s one I must pursue. Jesus’s command to love one another is clear, and if I am to love people well, then I need to care about creation—including our life-sustaining planet and its forests.
Whatever we think about climate change, good stewardship means considering how our choices affect our landscape and honoring the resources God has given us.
Following God is always an adventure, isn’t it? He seems to enjoy leading us on unexpected paths, surprising us by revealing himself in ways we hadn’t considered before.
I hope you’ll follow along as I weave my way through the forest, leaving a trail of words as I go.
Although I am working on the new project I mentioned, that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten my cast of characters in Mendocino, where the wind-sculpted Monterey cypresses dot the rugged Northern California cliffs and hillsides and the buttery scent of homemade croissants wafts from Ellyn’s kitchen.
