Tag Archives: God’s got this

The Significance of Cedar Trees in the Bible

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Welcome back to another episode of what on earth is happening and why does it cost so much? Just kidding. I just signed off on our goat shed. And got groceries this week. Yup, feeling the pinch over here. I suspect many of you are in that stage as well, so I’m in good company, eh? Thanks for being here to follow along in the journey! It’s been a whirlwind here and time has not been on our side. Spring finally arrived with a vengeance and left us with no time to catch up. Story of our lives. For recap: firewood pile is on the lawn and not stacked, baby chicks are in the house and growing fast, goat fence is up and shelter ordered but not in yet, baby goats due soon! garden has already sprouted and not cleaned up, maple syrup is a bust this year and we didn’t get to the sap…it will likely be spoiled… but hey! my house is fairly tidy at the moment, so there’s that! Life, as I have said many times, is like that, and I take comfort in knowing that God’s Got This and He sees it all.

The beginnings of the cedar arbor

So let’s dive in to this week’s muse. I think we’ll continue on the theme we’ve been following on plants and their significance in the Bible. For this week, I came upon the mighty cedar tree. You’ll see it mentioned 103 times in the Bible. “The mighty cedars of Lebanon” built the temples, and refer to strength and royalty. It also refers to a pretty hunk of a good mate ( “He stands tall, like a cedar, strong and deep-rooted, A rugged mountain of a man, aromatic with wood and stone.” Song of Solomon 5:15). Huba Huba… Could be an Old Spice commercial. They probably have a “cedar scent” for their products. Not sure if it was biblically inspired, but they likely have one.

Speaking of great odour, cedar is a favourite of mine as well. Have you ever been to one of those antique shops with an old cedar chest ? I have slight regret for not buying one when I was a teenager… it was all lined with quilting and smelled fabulous. I now own several old crates. Not sure too many of those have that great cedar smell, though. That mix of ruggedness and freshness. Outdoorsy, but still “clean”. Yes, would definitely make a good deodorant.

Cedar trees. Itsnotta farm has several cedars surrounding the property. Some are very, very tall and the owls and crows hide in them way up at the top. I can only pick out their bird calls. The evergreen needles hide them well. We also have a cedar “hedge” near the house. I say “hedge” as I think it once was much shorter than it is now. I’ve hacked away at it to build my arbor. Which is still up… but leans to the side slightly. So much for strength and royalty. I guess the good wood was just in the wrong hands. It smelled good though, when I was hacking away at the branches.

The “Cedars of God” nature preserve, one of the last vestiges of the forests of Lebanon Cedar.

Anyway, another week, another focus. Mighty cedars. What does it mean to you? A sweet aroma, reminding you that God’s in control and will be your source of strength? A symbol of power and royalty, used to build the mighty temples and palaces that held the likes of Solomon the wise? A tall evergreen to hide and protect us in its branches?

It’s good to take a look around once and awhile and notice things and wonder why they are there. It’s why I do this little thing every week. Lately, I feel like my writing hasn’t been as focused, but if someone somewhere gets something out of it, then I suppose my little musings are worth it. In this world of AI and auto generated everything, it’s nice to have a little unprofessional blip about nothing in particular every now and then, yes?

And so, as I go out to do my farm chores every morning, or hear the owl call from somewhere in the branches at night, I’ll think (and smell?) about our little cedar hedges, and be reminded of the mighty cedars of Lebanon and the strength they brought to the ancient world. And now, I hope you’ll be reminded of them, too, and trust that the mighty Creator of the cedars thinks about you as well! Be blessed, my friends!

Our leaning cedar arbor…surrounded by the “hedge”

If I Could Save Time in a Bottle

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When we first moved out here to rural Ontario, we struggled with getting up early for the school bus. We’re night hawks and that early morning pick up was tough. It continues to be tough, but we are getting used to it. However, once we were up so early… we seemed to have a lot more time. I noticed even after morning coffee and scrolling, I still set about my day with good measures of time. Be that as it may, I continue to struggle with all the things I want to see accomplished. The days are getting longer and there seems to be more daylight, but, man, there never seems to be enough time. I have been meaning to unpack the last few boxes hidden in the basement. I want to tackle some DIY projects. My seeds need to get in some soil in order to be ready for garden planting. Chicks are coming… have to organize bunnies and prep the coop. Even now that I am not working again, there still never seems to be enough time.

Bill Watterson quote from Mary Mott Writes

Now don’t go getting all “holier than thou” and tell me if I prioritized my time… or if I got off social media… or that I’d get done what is important to me… Perhaps all these things are true. I am also trying to be sensitive to my family who prioritizes people instead of tasks. I have to be social they say. Visit. Build relationships. Self care? How about personal hygiene? Housework? Did you know that the average person will spend almost 750 days doing dishes in their lifetime. Our dishwasher is currently dead. I am sure we are going to up that number. We have kids and creatures and gardens and a house; extended family. Church. Community. We live a fifteen minute drive from anything. If I could save time in a bottle… I’d be rich and have more time for … well … time for more.

Ecclesiastes tells us “there is a time for everything…” and we recognize that this is true, but, if you’re like me, you don’t quite understand the time-shift continuum, and often wonder how we fit everything in to our days without getting a bit funky smelling. I found a deep sentiment to explain it:

“When scripture declares that for everything there is a season, this means that the various circumstances we go through in life are not by incident, but orchestrated or allowed by God with great purpose and intentionality.”

biblestudytools.com

We often talk about “seasons” of life. Chunks of reality when it’s understandable that this or that will take up your time. Retirement. Parenthood. Adolescence. We recently took to tapping our forest for sap. Maple syrup making has a very distinct “season”. The conditions must be just right for the sap to flow. Then the process requires filtering, boiling, refining… all at certain temperatures. As with most things in life, to find the “sweet spot” requires time. I heard that perhaps maple syrup making is more of an “art” than “science”. What happens if you don’t measure temperature to exactly 219 degrees (or whatever…) What happens if we don’t collect when the weather is just right? How do we predict the weather accurately anyway? Our syrup won’t work out, I suspect. If it does, our yield won’t be as good. Nature is always a gamble. That’s why the internet is full of “tips and tricks” on homesteading.

We recently set out to try tapping.

Still, let’s go back to that quote. Only God can see our timelines. We can only see a little “blip” in our reality. We are but dust. We only see specific incidents. Google photos and Facebook remind us of “memories” from this day or that day. Compare it to now, “X” years later. Have we changed? Matured? How many friends have died or left or come in to your lives since then? Technology. Politics. War. The price of groceries. Our physical body and space. Change is constant. Time cannot be saved in a bottle.

God sees the bigger picture. He sees our life as a whole. He orchestrated it. As a whole. As a whole with great purpose and intentionality. If I could plan out my life exactly, or set my kids lives on a piece of cardstock, things would look oh so different. If my mother could have set my life on a piece of index card, I wonder what I would have looked like. God has done just that. He knew us before we were born. He has a plan. He also had a plan, and it was thought through and orchestrated brilliantly. He is working with the dips and divets and dives of nature, allowing for art versus science. Yet His yield is perfection.

His yield is Perfect.

Oh beloveds, is this encouraging to you? I hope it is. Perhaps you are in a season where you simply can’t see a way out. Perhaps you are struggling with not enough time. Perhaps there is too much time to fester in your own self doubts. Perhaps you desperately want to use your time wisely but it is just difficult. Society tells you do this, that, the other thing, and you can’t see the forest for the trees. You’re feeling the time crunch of a season in life. God’s got this. There is a time for everything under the sun. Our little speck of dust has meaning, purpose and intention in God’s agenda book. As for me, I gotta go collect some tree sap. Then maybe a nap, or shave my armpits. Maybe tackle the dishes. Be blessed, my beloveds.