Trees are among my favorite things to draw, and this verse immediately brought to mind a tree, which I rendered in three panels. The bottom panel represents rootedness. The middle panel represents tribulation with its twisted, gnarled branches and dead leaves. The top panel represents hope through the tree’s new growth. The dove carries a sign of that hope in its mouth, just like the dove of Genesis to Noah; God gives us hope and we can in turn share that hope with others.
The title is “Rooted” because this is so much of what enlivens a tree, even in harsh conditions or when the tree has been damaged in some way. If the roots are strong, the tree will hold, much like being rooted in prayer will sustain us in the hardest of times. The roots of a tree are not meant merely to serve that tree but to help all of the trees around it: trees use their roots to send both nourishment and vital protective signals to its neighbors. You’ll see a tree off to the side of the bottom panel, a reminder that we are connected to each other in prayer, and our prayers can uplift each other and make each other stronger.
