Last summer, a hurricane-force storm swept through my Midwestern city. My husband started putting steaks on the grill while black billowing clouds moved ominously over our neighborhood. He carried on, appearing rather unbothered, while the winds picked up. As robust raindrops began falling, my patience was waning. Finally, after some strong encouragement on my part, he abandoned his dinner duties to come inside, the back door shutting as the tornado sirens sounded.
I went to the basement, clearing some space in our storage closet. Next, I heard the unfortunate sound of our nervous dog relieving himself on the carpet—followed closely by a giant thud that shook our house. As it turned out, that was the end of our beautiful pear tree. RIP. The wind’s brute force snapped the trunk, leaving it leaning on the front of our house. We were both devastated. For me, it felt especially discouraging because of an encounter I had less than 24 hours before.
The night before the storm, I received a vision from the Lord. I was overlooking a lush forest, with evergreen trees stretching for miles. Then my view switched to the ground level. I was standing there, my feet in the dirt with Jesus by my side. Suddenly, all the trees lit up, lights twinkling in the darkness, like a sea of Christmas trees. I heard God say, “I have a gift for you.” End of vision. Immediately, a proverb came to my mind: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life” (Prov. 13:12, NIV).
So when we lost the last remaining tree in our front yard the very next day, it hit me hard. This incident felt deeply personal, not coincidental. Honestly, I was offended. As I surveyed the splintered tree trunk, it was like peering into an x-ray of my heart: broken, jagged, jaded. Ongoing disappointment in some key areas of my life had plunged me into the depths of hope deferred. To be more vulnerable: I knew this vision from God was related to my deepest heart desire to become a mother. And yet, year after year, my reality hasn’t aligned with what God has promised.
But here’s what Jesus was really showing me: I had lost my hope, not his promise. My circumstances were screaming at me and stealing from me. But His gift for me was fresh hope and, most of all, his strong presence. He was binding up my broken heart and giving me renewed vision—eyes to see—because the storms of life will inevitably blow through and try to steal his word planted in my heart.
Can you relate? Perhaps you’re dealing with a delay, a nagging disappointment, or some unrelenting, heartbreaking life circumstance. What you see with your natural eyes doesn’t match what God has said. I know the pain is real. That’s why it’s crucial to remember and rehearse God’s words spoken through the scriptures and the Holy Spirit’s whispers. I wrote a 40-day devotional titled Worthy Words (#ad) for this reason—to connect your heart to heaven, recover your hope, and see past the storms to the good future God has planned just for you.
And I’m happy to report that my husband planted a new tree in our front yard last fall. It’s our “tree of life”—a prophetic picture and tangible reminder of God’s goodness and our resilience. I’m excited to watch it grow strong and tall as a towering testimony that God always keeps his word.
Chelsea Bailey is a wife, author, avid learner, and lover of deep conversations and dark roast coffee. She has master’s degrees in communication and ministry leadership and a diverse background in teaching, writing, marketing, and ministry. Chelsea is called to reveal truth, release hope, and activate others to use their voice as a force for good. Connect with Chelsea at worthywords.co.