Saved from the Fowler’s Snare! The Jacaranda Tree

It was a day well spent. It was the 16^th November 2018. That morning we had a very successful book launch event. Prior to the launch I had worked day and night. I woke up early and slept late. There were so many things to do and prepare. That day, our big day, I was alert and sharp inspite of waking up at 4am. After the event I came home at 2pm and exhaustion hit me like a ton of bricks. I lay down in bed and was immediately out like a light.

I must have slept for an hour before I woke up. In my waking moments I saw a vision 20..7. I woke up fully. I wrote it down on my notebook. I pondered and asked myself: what could be 20..7? Deep inside of me I knew that it was a scripture. Then I heard a voice in my spirit say: go out in the garden. So I wobbled outside. I went to the garden and started thanking the Lord for the environment, the trees, the flowers. I went around the garden and came back to the front of the house. Right in front of my house there is a majestic Jacaranda tree. I stood there transfixed, just looking at the tree. I looked at the tree for a long time, then I went back inside the house.

Most Jacaranda trees are big. During the flowering season they have cascades of neon, violet-blue flowers. And when the flowers have fallen and the season is ended, they dazzle with lovely twisted branches and feathery green leaves.

That was Friday afternoon.

The following day at around 9.30 am, my daughter and I were all ready to go watch a football tournament. I am surprised that she wants to come with me so early in the morning. We are ready to enter the car. But we linger. My car is parked near the majestic Jacaranda tree. We stand near the car. Out of the blue, my daughter points at something near the base of the tree. She says: Mum you see that…she is pointing….that is a poisonous mushroom. This kind of mushroom destroys a tree even to the roots. I look at her. Clearly, we are supposed to be going to a tournament and we are having this conversation about mushrooms and trees! I look down at the mushroom. It is blackish brownish. It is round and big. I go nearer the tree, then I bend over wanting to touch the mushroom. Then suddenly I straighten up and say that I will come check it after we come back home.

We reach the school where the tournament is taking place in less than 15 minutes. We are in the field watching a game. My phone is ringng. It is our caretaker at home. He tells me that the tree near the house has collapsed and fallen on the electric fence and  is blocking the road outside our compound. I panic. I ask: when did it happen? He says: a few minutes ago; ‘and, ‘would you come home quickly?’, he asks. I ask: Is anyone hurt? He says: ‘No, no one’.

My daughter sees the anguish in my face. I explain to her that the tree that we were checking out had collapsed and fallen, just a few minutes after we had left. She says: Oh Mum that tree could have fallen on us and the car! I look at her and realise how so blessed we are. The Lord just spared us that morning! And the scripture that I saw in a vision rushed back. It is Proverb 20:7 that says A righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him.

In retrospect, I remember the Lord instructing me to pray for the environment.

Obedience is a virtue.

That day the Lord saved us from the fowler’s snare. The Lord protected us with His righteous right hand.