Trusting Like a Tree

September 3, 2025 // Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church

Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Psalm: Psalm 52:10, 11

Reflect on the Word // 

“Coming!”

My voice echoed in the empty house as I darted down the stairs one last time to join my family in the feeble mid-May Alaskan sunshine. Clumps of snow still clung tenaciously to the edge of the driveway, where we loaded our final round of belongings into our mid-size SUV and shuffled in to begin the long drive from Anchorage to Las Vegas, Nevada. 

As the daughter of a military family, my childhood memories are a montage of scenes like this one: bare houses, full vans, cross-country drives, new cities. As a kid I appreciated the sense of adventure afforded by these frequent opportunities to begin again. In time, however, I saw this instability in my early years contributing to a restlessness of spirit that wore deep, anxious grooves in my heart. When the one constant was that everything could be expected to change so suddenly . . . where could I place my trust? 

Today’s Psalm provides the answer: “I, like a green olive tree in the house of God, [t]rust in the mercy of God forever and ever” (Psalm 52:10). All trees stay grounded with the help of resilient root networks, but the thickly intertwined trunks of olive trees evoke a particular sturdiness. To pray with this image is to imagine myself similarly rooted in the Lord’s unfailing love, wrapped securely in His attentive care. 

I am sure you have your own reasons for doubting the Lord and His love, sister. Frequent, significant changes are not restricted to the children of Air Force officers, but are rather our lot as humans. Yet we can always root ourselves with certainty in this: the kindness and mercy of an unchanging Father Who is always with us. And when we look back on our lives with this truth in mind, we’ll find that, like the Psalmist, we can turn to the Lord with praise and say, “[T]hank you always for what you have done, and [I] proclaim the goodness of your name before your faithful ones” (Psalm 52:11).  

Relate to the Lord // How’s your security? Take some time to notice your level of rootedness in the Lord today.

About Sarah Zentner

View other posts from the author

 

Dr. Sarah Zentner is a bibliophile and “hygge” enthusiast who delights in steaming mugs of tea, freshly baked pastries, the Little Way, and all things true, good, and beautiful. She holds a Ph.D. in English from the Catholic University of America and lives with her toy poodle, JoJo, in Washington, D.C., where she teaches literature at an all-girls Catholic secondary school.