Years before I met my husband, I asked the Lord if He would bring me a man who loved Him with his whole heart, who wanted to serve Him in intentional gospel ministry and who was a tree planted by streams of living water. I chose Psalm 1 as the prayer I would pray for the man I wanted to marry one day. Jesus answered my prayer most blessedly. This passage of Holy Scripture is one of the many Scripture references alluded to in the book, You Are a Tree: and Other Metaphors to Nourish Life, Thought, and Prayer, by Joy Clarkson.
Like so much of the Bible, God reveals who He is to us through the use of metaphor. Joy Clarkson takes this literary device and intelligently wields it to open the gates of metaphor to discuss how understanding the metaphors we use in our daily living can enrich our understanding of God and ourselves.
One of the purposes in this book is to introduce the reader to an idea. In this book, Joy is not trying to give a comprehensive treatise on all the ways we can use metaphor, or a concise tome of all the metaphors we use in the English speaking world. She is merely inviting us into a deeper understanding of the use of language and giving us an introduction into the vast study and awareness of how metaphor is used to narrate our ordinary daily lives, and how the words we use can shape and define us.
Another introduction that I greatly appreciate is how she uses her scholarly knowledge to benefit the reader by making the study of classical literature more accessible to several generations of non-classically trained humans. This is not an insult to those who were not classicaly trained or exposed to great works of literature, it is a reality that most education in the western hemisphere is not based on learning from ancient history with God at the center of all learning. As someone with a good education and a college degree, I still have so much to learn. Joy Clarkson references ancient books I have never heard of, vocabulary I didn’t know existed, and, with humility, takes the reader on a learning pathway that incorporates not only great works of literature but also incorporates references to other works of art, poetry, music and further reading. One caveat regarding these other references: be discerning as you engage with other works that are mentioned, always guarding your heart with wisdom and Scripture. The writer’s ability to engage with culture as a Christian is mature, wise and discerning, but not all readers will be able to engage with that level of discernment based on where they are at developmentally or in regards to maturity and wisdom. Not every reference is going to be beneficial for all. Engaging with pop or secular culture requires much wisdom and accountability, which I think she would clearly agree with.
The most important thing I would say about this book is that she faithfully proclaims her steadfast faith in Christ and her submission to the Word of God. This is perhaps the most beautiful thing I see in this book, that even in a world of academia, she unapologetically declares her faith in Christ and her dedication to the Word of God, thus pointing readers to the Way, Truth and Life, Jesus.
The Christian life itself is a metaphor, the carrying over of our true home to this world, where roots draw their nourishment from the springs of eternal life, unfolding in the light of True Wisdom, safe in the arms of the Most High, at home in love, changed from glory to glory, burdened only with the weight of love.
I would recommend this book to middle school and high school students, and those entering their college years, or anyone who is like me, a lifelong learner.