The Riverbank

Are you flourishing or feeling withered? By the end of 2024, I was pretty parched—stretched way too thin with not much left to give. As the new year approached, hope glimmered in my heart when the Lord gave me my word for 2025—focus. With a renewed intention to go deeper in the Word, I ordered a pretty journal in my favorite color and planned to read and pray through Psalms.

The turquoise journal arrived in November. In January I peeled off the plastic packaging ready to focus on Psalm 1. As I soaked up the verses I’d read numerous times over the years, I suddenly noticed that the tree on the cover of my new notebook was an image of the one described in Psalm 1:3. Talk about a God-wink!

 But they delight in doing everything the LORD wants;

Day and night they think about his law.

They are like trees planted along the riverbank,

bearing fruit each season without fail.

 Their leaves never wither,

 and in all they do, they prosper.

Psalm 1:2-3 NLT

As I meditated on these verses three points began to germinate:

•   The Riverbank

•   The Seasons

•   The Fruit

In this post I’ll share about the Riverbank and in the next two I’ll unpack The Seasons and The Fruit. I pray it will minister to you as it has to me.

The Riverbank

Psalm 1:3 describes God’s people as trees planted beside the riverbank. Trees are strategically planted near their life-giving water source. We, like trees, also need water to survive and thrive. Jeremiah 17:13 refers to the LORD as the fountain of living water. Jesus is the water we can’t live without.

 We read more about living water in John 4 where the Samaritan woman meets Jesus at the well: Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me , and I would give you living water” (John 4:10 NLT). This one encounter with Jesus—the Living Water—transformed the woman’s life and as a result, her community. The Living Water changes us too.

Soaking up the Living Water is necessary for our sanctification. Romans 8:28-29 NIV says: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

Mamas, the Lord called us to a purpose (Romans 8:28). From the moment we said “yes” to adoption or foster care, our lives have never been the same. While there is joy on the journey, there’s a lot of stress that comes with that yes.

Often we feel like we’re in over our heads as we tend to our kids’ medical, emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual needs. Our days are filled with transporting, educating, medicating, advocating, feeding, praying for, cleaning up after, and trying to connect with our kids. We do a lot. But it’s not about what we do—it’s about who we become in the process.

The Living Water

While we were created in God’s image, His purpose is for us to grow and become more like Jesus. God uses our trials to transform us into the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). But this transformation does not happen without being immersed in the Living Water.

God calls us to meet Him at the Riverbank. He beckons us to extend our roots down deep into the Living Water. At His feet we learn to navigate the challenging rapids of our lives. Daily time spent with Jesus transforms us. Soaking up the Word leads to spiritual growth—growth that produces fruit every season without fail.