Jeremiah 17:5-10

Growing up, I awoke each day to familiar trees standing in the Albemarle Sound. They are used as homes by eagles, as shade when swimming, as anchors for boats and canoes, as markers of how high the water levels had risen during a storm, or how low the water had gotten in times of drought. These cypress trees are deeply rooted.
The next time I paid much attention to trees in the water was during an outreach trip to Haiti. Each day we worked with doctors and dentists providing medicine and pulling teeth. Afternoons were spent losing soccer games to the local children. At the close of each day, we walked down to the beach to reflect on the day and to be renewed by the water. My favorite spot was under a green, gnarly tree. The tree had been weathered and worn by many storms, but it was grounded and green and beautiful.
God, help me to feel your loving presence and trust in you, so that I may be like a tree planted by the water. Not fearful or anxious of hardships, but trusting and renewed, so that I may feel grounded and ready to bear the fruit you have asked me to grow.

Catherine Olivo

Appointed readings for today: Hosea 6:1-6, Psalm 51:15-20, Luke 18:9-14