I just rediscovered this piece.

From August 8, 2006:

God only knows how many times I’ve prayed for this… thing, this… difference… to be gone. I never wanted to be alone, to feel alone.

I just wanted to be a part of things, to be included, to have friends.

But God had a different plan, and he gifted me with the ability to write, to communicate, to build relationships that are deep and personal.

Lathana, a creeping vine, gratitude, praise.

Janna Louise, God’s Flourishing Graceful Warrior.

~*~

I am a tree. I grow out of the ashes of a flaming altar – the altar of tradition. I am rooted in that tradition, nurtured and fed by the Word of God himself, and there is something new growing within me, bursting forth from the branches that give shade and shelter to those who need rest.

I am strong, a place for weary travellers to lean and regain their strength… a place for poets to sit and write… a place for dreamers to dream, and then step out from my shade, from my protective shelter, into the sun – into the world.

~*~

And I gather their stories, as they sit in my shade, as they confer with their Lord & Saviour. I gather their stories and digest them, record them, remember them, holding them within my mind.

~*~

Occasionally I speak. I tell these stories that I have collected, in new ways, to those who will benefit from them. I share the wisdom I have learned from these travellers, poets, dreamers, and I hope that my listeners come away with something of benefit.

~*~

The tree is where the flourishing part comes in. It is where the truth of the name my parents gave me comes to fruition. I have long known the warrior’s spirit, and my open acceptance is borne of the grace of God. It is the tree – life, knowledge, wisdom, rest, shelter – that is the final key to my earthly identity.

And it is the tree that joins the earthly to the spiritual, for the vine and the tree are both green, growing things. And my God-name is gratitude and praise, the crown of my life, the crown of my being. I praise and I am thankful, and God returns to me in kind – praise and gratitude for a job well done, a life well lived.