Psalm 84 - Renewal

One of the selling points for the house we live in was a tree that we have named Maggie. It is a big magnolia tree that our back deck was built around and the canopy of the tree provides an absolutely beautiful shelter for the deck. There was a lot we loved about the house years ago when we bought it but I think it was the tree that did it. Maggie was actually fairly unhealthy when we first moved in and we had to do a lot to keep it alive. But today, she is flourishing. Over the years we have lived there, we have learned a lot about Maggie’s life cycle. Maggie is a haven for wildlife - squirrels running up and down, birds nesting on her branches, and so much else. We also learned that she drops her leaves, not in Autumn, but instead in the Spring. As well, we learned that these leaves are like oval pieces of leather that can block the drain in our driveway during heavy Spring rains (not great). But we also came to see that Maggie offers up so many stunning white blooms at the same time as well. I always get a little bit extra excited when I see the first blooms appearing. There is usually one way up top and then they slowly begin to emerge on the lower branches. Here is one from Tuesday morning.

I changed it to B&W because I really didn't like how the color turned out

I’ve been sitting with Psalm 84 for about a week now and nothing was really emerging until Monday afternoon when I did a video conversation (linked below) sitting in Maggie’s shade and then Tuesday morning when I saw a bunch of blooms starting to appear on the lower branches. What I saw in the tree and what I started to hear emerge from the Psalm was about renewal.

The Psalm is a wondrous exclamation of joy and gratitude for the places where one encounters the living God. It begins with these beautiful words:

How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD of hosts!
My soul longs, indeed it faints
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
to the living God.

It continues by bringing in both the natural world (the sparrow and swallow finding their nests) and also centers on the physical temple as a place of restoration and renewal. But ultimately, the renewal is in the Lord:

Happy are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion....
For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.

And I echo what the Psalm here shares about renewal - in physical spaces, in nature, in the divine presence. But for today, my renewal is in the beauty of the renewal of Maggie, this beautiful tree that provides a shelter not only for us in our home but also for so much else.

Another view of Maggie and the sheltered deck

What brings you renewal?

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A few other quick notes. A small humble brag - for as much as I work out and run at the gym, I have never fully run an official 5K race - that is until Saturday! 27 minutes!

Also,

MaryAnn McKibben Dana

and I did our most recent Pop Culture Pastors Hour conversation on the TV show, Andor. Here’s the link:

Pop Culture Pastors Hour! Andor Season 2 Episodes 10-12

Also, we are doing another one on Friday afternoon on Substack live at 2pm ET on Rogue One and the whole of the series along with some questions that are kind of like our “awards” for the show.

Grace, Peace, Love, and Joy,
Ed

PS - Scout’s renewal often comes from the joy she gets in chasing geese at the lake...