Great and Merciful God
as the trees of the forest grow straight and tall
reaching up their branches towards the heavens
drinking in your gifts of sunshine and rain,
help us to reach out towards you,
to accept your gifts of love and mercy,
to grow in grace
and to live and die
in your love.
Alison O’Grady, Christian author in Asia
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The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”
prayer & verse 
