To The Palm Trees In My Backyard

Blog Post 1

Kaitlyn D. | 10.11.2024

For years, I’ve joked that God wanted me to live somewhere with palm trees…

I could argue that these trees represented some form of paradise to my midwestern heart, but I’m not sure that’s 100 percent true. As a child growing up in the corn fields of Illinois, I only saw palm trees near beaches while on vacation or on the television screen. As I grew older, travelled to more places, and gained new experiences, palm trees began to represent something else altogether, although I’m not entirely sure what. They were more than symbols of some far away paradise; they became a sort of aspiration. My joking turned somewhat serious, as something in my heart whispered that I would undoubtedly live somewhere with palm trees one day.

I didn’t know where, specifically, as there are many places on this beautiful Earth with palm trees. I saw them when I travelled to Florida and Arizona with my family, served on mission trips in Haiti, went on vacation in California, and visited my husband’s family in Côte d’Ivoire. Now that I reside in Arizona, I can step out of my back door and see daily, with my own eyes, tall and flourishing palm trees. I often sit on my porch, simply watching their fronds rustle in the small desert breezes, something that was not possible before.

Last year, I made a New Year’s resolution to devote more time to learning new skills. Surprisingly, I stuck to it pretty well. I started learning Arabic, continued my study of French and Haitian Creole, and even learned how to crochet, among other things. What I didn’t anticipate (or, more accurately, want) was the life lessons that 2023 brought. My dear readers, I’m positive that each one of you will agree with this simple fact: life is full of hardships and challenges that none of us enjoy, anticipate, or are immune to.

If you have perused this website at all, you might have noticed a Bible verse listed on the home page. This verse, Psalm 92:12-13, reads, “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.” Although I never resolved or desired to experience hard things and learn life lessons in the process, my experiences have taught me one very important lesson: it matters where you are planted.

My life, my goals and desires, are not rooted in others’ expectations of me. They aren’t even rooted in what I think is best. They are rooted in the things of God.

In my pursuance of skills and knowledge throughout 2023, I rather unwilling learned that people will disappoint me. I learned that sometimes, problems don’t get solved in ways that I would like. I learned that hard things will happen, whether I want them to or not. And, in the spirit of honesty, I did not want them to happen.

These are not lessons I wanted to learn at any point in time because they are difficult. They are challenging. They are things that change you and things that could uproot everything you thought you knew about life, and yet they transpired nonetheless. I was forced to learn through the struggles and grow through the pain. However, I wouldn’t trade my experiences for anything else because they are a significant part of what shapes me into the person I need to be.

Verses 14-15 of Psalm 92 continue on: “They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing, To declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.” Through all the lessons and all the growing pains, I know where I can place my trust. To be planted in the house of God, to grow and flourish were you are, is to celebrate the good and the bad because you know where your roots are planted. It’s understanding that hardships will come, but they will not last.

If I am to flourish like a palm trees, I have to remember my rock and His faithfulness in my life, always. I must look at the palm trees and be reminded of who I am and who I’m meant to be, which is found in Christ alone.

And so, I dedicate this first blog post to the palm trees in my backyard, which remind me constantly to stay rooted and built-up in righteousness, to continue growing in the midst of the hard things, and to marvel at the beauty of the life that has been given to me by God. As I sit on my porch, gazing up at the palm trees and their rustling fronds, they whisper a gentle reminder: declare the goodness of God, and flourish.