The bare, winter tree stands like a sentinel outside my window. I see it every morning as it glows in the beams of the rising sun. During the summer, it was covered with leaves, and I loved seeing it  whenever I was in my room.  However, fall came and it yielded its green covering to the wind and weather.

But I still love it! Yesterday, it  a lone bird, I think a cardinal, perched in its top branch for a few minutes. Then he flew off and suddenly several other birds flew into the bare branches and sat for awhile. What a treat to watch them descend into its branches and perch there. in the summer, I can’t see them sitting there.

As I watch the sun turn the horizon and my tree into gold every morning, I think of how God often compares His people to trees. I am meant to bear fruit, but there are times I feel like that tree, barren of anything that looks worth anything. However, like that tree, golden red in the dawn, I may not feel beautiful, but when God’s light in Jesus shines on me, I reflect His beauty. And that is far superior to anything I may show forth.