Living Like a Live Oak

The iconic image of a southern estate property often includes a sprawling live oak laden with cascading moss.  If you are not familiar with southern flora, you may not realize that ‘live’ does not describe the tree as not dead, but it is the name of the predominant oak variety in the south, particularly the coastal south.  A live oak inhabits our front yard, not a spectacular specimen, but other larger beauties grow on nearby properties.

The name ‘live’ refers to the presence of leaves on the tree all year long.  Live oaks shed and regrow leaves throughout the year.  But there are other good reasons for calling it live.  Live oaks are known for their longevity, easily living hundreds of years.  They also spare life and prevent destruction.  Due to their low, spreading nature and deep, strong roots, they survive coastal storms.  Early peoples knew to cling to live oaks for safety during hurricanes.  Their broad shape buffers wind and protects surrounding structures.  I find compelling beauty in the live oak’s gangly, low-spreading branches, especially when adorned with natural mossy tinsel.

The first song in the book of Psalms compares living a godly life to a prospering tree.  Psalm 1 states that a godly man flourishes like a tree planted near a good water source.  The well-watered tree produces fruit and lush foliage.  The Psalm contrasts the godly life to the “wicked,” whose life and successes are short-lived.  Psalm 1 describes right living or the righteous as separated from sinful ways and focused instead on God’s law (the Scriptures).  Whether the psalmist had in mind the elegant symmetry of a maple, or the majestic reaches of a redwood, or the unique form of a live oak, a thriving life flows out of wise spiritual habits.  Here is the first Psalm:

Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
² but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

³ He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
⁴ The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
⁶ for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

Author: Brenda Proulx

Wife, mother and grandmother, educator and someone who thinks about the things I observe. I am the daughter of a writer; my dad's career was in the field of journalism. More significantly, I am God's child, a person believing in Jesus Christ and in His timeless Word. Blogging is new to me but I feel like I've always had a pen in my hand. I jot notes in my planner, mark papers, underline verses, write many letters, and occasionally draft articles for work or church. When I am not holding a pen, I am probably cuddling a mug of coffee. View all posts by Brenda Proulx