I.
I was a barren landscape.
You covered me with green.
I was an empty field of dust.
You planted hope in me.
Slow-growing trees will outlast years
Of swifter sprouts that fade.
Your planting is perfection.
Every seed was deftly laid.
You gave me a heart of oak.
I rise with every year,
Growing, stretching closer to
The glory of your sphere.
I reach with limbs and branches,
Bathed by sun and rain.
A shelter and a home, I stand
In beauty and in strength.
A lonely field became a grove.
A storm-swept plain stands green.
From dust sprang tender shoots of hope,
Then saplings grew with faith.
Now, love stands strong and bears much fruit.
Beneath me lies the field.
My roots will ever hold it fast,
No longer dead, but healed.
Part of me; not who I am,
The past was fertile earth.
Time and faith transformed me
Into green and growing berth.
II.
Look at the birds
who sing in my branches.
Hear how the wind
rustles my leaves.
See how the deer
lie down in my shadows.
Touch verdant mosses
that fur my rough bark.
Smell pine needles rotting.
See spiders spin lace.
Find bluebells and berries.
Watch ants on parade.
My being swells with life.
My heart beats with creation.
I am a forest,
Raised by your hand.
III.
You saw me and changed me.
I'm not who I was.
You claimed and remade me.
You brought me to life.
I was dry, flat, and empty.
You sowed me with seeds.
You saw I was thirsty.
Your rain washed me clean.
I sing with the birdsong,
I run with the deer.
I fly with the insects.
I sleep with the bears.
I'm sweet with wild berries.
I'm spicy with ferns.
I'm fresh with the dew.
I'm wild with the wind.
I am your forest,
And you are my God.
I'm filled with your goodness.
I burst with your love.
I grow in your kindness.
I'm rooted in faith.
I'm lush with your mercy.
I'm blooming with grace.
IV.
Let all of creation see and take hope.
Though you're lonely and barren,
Life still can grow.
A God who is faithful
Sees you and knows
Your dust is a garden
Where Eden can grow.
His spirit brings promise.
His love can transform.
His hand sows redemption.
His grace is a storm.
He bathes us in mercy.
He stirs us with pain.
He heals us with sunshine.
He cleans us with rain.
Our lives are a field.
Our hearts are the earth.
Salvation plants seeds there.
Faith gives them birth.
Hope keeps us growing.
Love makes us strong.
Joy buds and blossoms.
Our sap runs with song.
He sees us, delighted.
He walks in our shade.
We are his dwelling,
The forest he made.
V.
Praise to the sower
Of everything good!
Praise to the grower
Of peace-hearted wood!
Give thanks for the beauty.
Remember the plain.
Delight in the sunshine.
Find strength in the rain.
Grow, bloom, and prosper.
Give shelter and shade.
Stand tall, green, and growing.
Keep roots deep in faith.
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