The #snovid21 deep-freeze we Texans suffered through a few months back did a number on my Palo Verde tree.

Only two years old this fav of mine was a fast-grower. Drought-tolerant with wispy chartreuse leaves and a green trunk. Every inch designed to capture the rays while surviving the heat on little water.

Problem is it’s not designed for below-freezing temps. Every year thus far some of the outer branches and limbs would turn black after getting frostbite. Need pruning in the spring. Never anything too drastic.

Until this year.

Palo’s basically been cut back to a 4-foot tall trunk with a handful of stubby protrusions serving as branches. More an abstract sculpture than a live tree.

My friend who really knows this variety encouraged me to not give up on it. “Its root system is so much stronger than anything you’d replace it with. Just give it some time. It’s regrouping,” Cathy said.

You and I experience seasons like Ms. Verde. 

Re-entering the hospital for a second surgery to correct the first one. Totaling the car with a high-deductible but a low savings account balance. Losing a loved one to suicide.

We wonder how we’ll survive with only stubby protrusions left. We don’t feel the same and suspect we don’t look the same. People tell us we look tired. Like we’ve been through the wringer. 

We feel like it.

Jesus walks with us like a patient gardener in those seasons. Waiting. Watering. Filling us with His strength every day. Gracing us with His Spirit that keeps life flowing through us. 

I’m not sure if the Palo’s going to make it. For now, though, I’m all in. Trim it back. Give it some fertilizer. Time for it to feel like itself again. 

A little grace and time won’t hurt it. It certainly doesn’t hurt us.