Kara Becker: Summer Devo Series

Kara Becker: All right. Awesome. Well, I am just so excited to be here. I guess the Holy Spirit.
Is, you know, blessing this time. You know, the storm is coming on. So it's an exciting.
Day, too, because it's jeans day in admissions. And so we always love jeans day. This doesn't have to do with my devo, but because I have the floor, I just want to say on behalf of admissions, we Talk about this all the time. We're kind of you know, we're secluded at the front and we're gone a lot and traveling and stuff like that. And so we just want to say thank you to each and every one of you for helping us. I was just thinking about that as I was thinking about what I was going to talk about. And every body is everybody's job counts.
In recruiting and bringing students here. And so I just wanted to say thank you for what you do on behalf of admissions. And so it I mean every every little thing helps.
So, okay, so Kecia asked me to to give the message today, and I hope I can give a little encouragement. And this is for me just as much as I hope it encourages you. So I'm also speaking to myself and learning through all of this.
But I thought a lot about, you know, what I could talk about. And so I started thinking about spiritual conversations over the years that I've had with family, friends, you know, coworkers, things like that. And so a conversation that stuck out to me, that has stuck with me for years is a conversation, that we, had about trees.
And I was hoping it was going to be sunny. So I could say, look at the shade and how, you know, but we're inside so you can look at the trees and hopefully rain comes. So this conversation, you know, kind of surrounded trees and how they provide relief and protection, especially in the summer in Lubbock, Texas.
You know, when it's 100 degrees outside and you sit under that tree, it's amazing how you know the difference and the relief it can bring. From that sun beating down on you, and so, you know, I was also talking to my dad about this and kind of bouncing ideas off of him, and so a verse came up, which is Genesis 21:33.
It's a random verse. I've never read it. I mean, I read through Genesis, but I've never remembered this verse. And it says.
Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and there he called on the name of the Lord, the eternal God.
And so as we were talking, I'm like, what's a tamarisk tree? I've never heard of that before.
So I'm going to take this from an article, or a blog that I read. It's from the Well community. Chris Shultz wrote. This. And so. But he does a fantastic job of explaining, of connecting a few things.
It says Abraham Plants a tamarisk tree in Beersheba. The only mention in our bible of Abraham planting anything. A tamarisk tree is a slow growing tree. Increase only an inch per year. And taking close to 400 years to grow to full height. Its evergreen leaves collect water vapor from the moisture in the air during the night. And when the sun radiates. Its heat, its heat, the droplets evaporate and produce a cooling system. It's an outdoor air conditioning unit for the blistering desert heat.
Further exploration about the tree reveals that insects transform the juice of the tree into a white like substance. That is sweet to eat. Some have called this substance Manna, Abraham, Beersheba, Tamarisk Tree.
He goes on and says. When you put it all together, a tree that takes almost 400 years to grow, a tree that provides shade, air and sustenance. A tree situated in the desert, a tree planted by Abraham.
Another thought occurs who comes through the desert. Some 400 years later, in need of shade, air and some manna. Abraham's descendants rescued from Egypt, Egypt and headed to the land.
God had promised Abraham they would be in need of all things. The Tamarisk tree would provide some 400 years after it was planted.
Man, I thought that was such a cool connection. And so then, you know, I started thinking about that conversation that we had about shade trees. And we specifically talked about who had provided shade in our lives. And so some examples in my life are and I've as I've gone through this, sometimes I cry just thinking about how special it is to think of these people. So my grandparents providing the shade of spiritual hope and salvation because of their faith. So because they chose to believe, their descendants are blessed eternally.
Because of that, my parents provided spiritual shade and also the shade of protection of teaching and correcting me. And telling me the truth and love, providing that shade from the world. Not coddling me, but providing relief.
My husband, this is the one got me crying. But I'm I'm strong today. So providing the shade of patience and unconditional love, my friends, my coworkers. There is many of you that I look at in this circle. I mean, it could be all of you that have provided shade of loyalty, and friendship and, you know, a listening ear. I mean, a lot of us provide that for each other.
And so then I went on to think, okay, so how can I become that for somebody else? How can I train to become a shade tree for somebody else?
And so a few verses that we talked about. So Psalm 1:1. Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers. But whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on His law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water which yields its fruit and season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever they do prospers. So delights in the law of the Lord meditates on his law day and night.
I was talking to Jody a few days ago and she shared this with the team before, and says Jeremiah, 17:7, says.
But blessed is the one who trust in the Lord whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water. That sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when he comes. It leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought, and never fails to bear fruit.
So whenever we're thinking about providing that relief in that shade to someone else, you know, the things that come up in these verses are: meditating on God's law, which I need to do better, and you know, staying rooted in his word delight in his law.
And so as we go forward, there's a few things that I want you to think about as we leave. Reflect on who has been who's provided shade in your life, and make sure that you tell them that and tell them that they provided that relief and that shade in your life. And then the second thing is, you know, who can we provide shade to? And we're in the perfect business of that, providing shade to students in need and in. But think about others, you know, your spouse, your children, friends who can we provide that shade?
But the only way that we can do that is staying rooted in his word and connected and delighting in his law, which can be hard sometimes. And I know it's hard for me, too. And then one other thing I just wanted to highlight is, you know, Abraham didn't see. He didn't see the fruits of his labor. I mean, it was 400 years later that that tree provided relief and blessings upon, you know, the Israelites going through the desert.
And so that's something that we can think about as we're doing our work here is we may not see the fruits of our labor. And sometimes I think about that as I'm working hard and trying to get those students and trying to plant those seeds in those different places. But it will have eternal blessings. And, you know, blessing students in years to come. So I'll just say a little prayer that can be done. So.
God, thank you so much for this time that we have the fellowship. This is a unique gift, and we never want to take this for granted. And we just pray that you give us wisdom, and you provide wisdom as we go forward working with students, and our family, and friends. And we pray that you provide opportunities for us to be shade and relief to people in our lives. And we pray that you give us you give us wisdom and help as we're delighting in your law and as we're focusing on that and God, I just. Pray blessing over each and every one of these people. And here they have blessed me and I thank you for them. And just pray over our day and our work. And we pray that we glorify you as we move forward. That's in Jesus name that I pray. Amen.
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