July 7, 2006

Psalms 103:1-2 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. (2) Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

“In Tewin churchyard, a short distance from King's Cross Station, in England, stands a great four-trunked tree growing out of a grave. Its presence there has given rise to much speculation among the residents of that section. The grave from which it grows is that of Lady Anne Grimston.

Is the tree a monument to a woman's disbelief or did it happen to grow there merely by chance? Nobody knows. Lady Anne Grimston did not believe in life after death. When she lay dying in her palatial home, she said to a friend, "I shall live again as surely as a tree will grow from my body." She was buried in a marble tomb. The grave was marked by a large marble slab, & surrounded by an iron railing. Years later the marble slab was found to be moved a little. Then it cracked, & through the crack a small tree grew. The tree continued to grow, tilting the stone & breaking the marble masonry until today it has surrounded the tomb with its roots, & has torn the railing out of the ground with its massive trunks. The tree at Lady Anne Grimston's grave is one of the largest in England.

Was it mere chance that caused the tree to grow there? Perhaps God the Almighty took her challenge. “ (Author unknown)

A tree is such a wonderful example of praise; no matter the obstacle in its way, it will lift its branches to the skies to praise and give glory to the LORD that made it.

Let the world praise the wicked, I will praise He that is holy. Let the world murmur and gripe, I will bless your Name. Let the world glory in its own works, I will remember your benefits. Let the world praise his own name, I will praise your Name. Not with my lips only, not with the vanity of gaudy words, but with my soul: the conjunction of my body and of the spirit of life (Gen 2:7), will I praise Him; with the fullness of my words and of my actions.

In all that we do, in all that we go through, may we never forget that the main purpose of our existence is to please God (Rev 4:11), and that to praise Him is the sign that we have faith in Him.

Habakkuk 3:17-18 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: (18) Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

Patrick Lumbroso
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