## 92:12
%% 4
> A Cedar in Lebanon
>> The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree. He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the LORD's house. They will flourish in our God's courts. They will still produce fruit in old age. They will be full of sap and green.

Occasion: Discouraged by slow growth

Lord, I keep looking for fruit too soon.
I check the branch.
I count the days.
I see small changes and call them nothing.

It is hard to keep going
when so much seems unchanged.
I begin to wonder whether I am growing at all,
or whether I have mistaken waiting for faithfulness.
Roots do their hardest work in the dark,
long before there's anything to show.

Teach me the pace of a tree.
Give me patience for work that stays hidden a long time.
Help me trust the quiet forming of roots
before there is anything on the branch to show.

I tire of what does not show.
I want quick results.
I want one clean sign that all this waiting matters.

Keep me rooted among people who know how to tend slow things,
who water and wait,
who do not dig up roots to see if they live.
And when I am tempted to measure this season too quickly,
give me grace to remain where I am
and receive what sustains me today.

I keep looking for fruit too soon.
Keep me waiting instead for Your roots.

Amen.