I have quite a few tattoos now which means I have quite a few testimonies of the Lord that I really want to share with y’all ! Welcome to this new blog series: Tattoo Tour !
Goodness gracious for as far as I can remember I’ve heard my mom say she loves palm trees ! hehe the love of the beach is embedded in my family and I remember the little doodles of palm branches all over my math papers:)
First introduced to the significance of palm trees through a short little conversation with my mom. she was telling me about how she was reading and meditating on a verse in Exodus 15 where it talked about how Moses just led the Israelites into the wilderness and they couldn’t find drinkable water for three days, Moses throws a log into a body of water and its turns from bitter to sweet and is now drinkable, then the camped out next to 70 PALM TREES – and I remember my mom said that something about palm trees has to be important if someone took the time to count out all 70 of them as a piece of important historical information.
As I went on my race and spent 5-months moving around other countries, I woke up every day to the sight of palm trees. They were outside every window next to my bed. Within short walking distance, I could go sit underneath one. I was blessed with the sight to examine palm trees while the Lord was teaching my heart new things.
The earliest memory of the Lord speaking directly to me about palm trees was within the first week I was in Costa Rica. He told me that the rustling of the palm trees whispers the song of restoration. I had no idea what that could mean at the time…
But here are some snippets of what the Lord revealed to me through the way He weaves in palm trees throughout scripture:
The Old Testament talks about instructions for building a new temple and it says for palm trees to LINE THE DOORS ! woah ! The holiest of holy places where the Lord dwelled was entered into through the sight of palm trees !
AND NOW Jesus has come and the veil was torn and God is on the loose ! No longer contained to the temple walls and so it’s a reminder that I can walk in the holiest of holy places in the presence of the Lord because He lives within me ! He’s always with me and walks before me ! These feet always touch holy ground !
Then in Mark 11, it shares the story about Jesus riding on a donkey into Jerusalem and it says people threw down their cloaks on the road and spread out palm branches on top before the feet of Jesus. They shouted “hosanna” which translates to complete adoration for the Father! so this tattoo is also a declaration that these feet will shout praise before the Lord and walk in complete adoration towards Him !
Psalm 92 is what really kicked off this whole journey with the Lord.
“The righteous flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
They still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green,
to declare that the Lord is upright;
He is my rock! and there is no unrighteousness in Him!”
Yeah I know ! Isn’t that just the coolest thing you’ve ever read ! What touched my heart in the midst of reading this is the fact that the Lord says we are PALM TREES just growing IN HIS HOUSE ! That’s not really where palm trees belong but we are invited in and PLANTED THERE! long-term ! ROOTED!
A huge part of my story is just how much I’ve moved around as a kid. Different houses, different states, even different sides of the country. I hated when people asked me “where are you from?” – which is a question I heard a lot but I never knew how to answer. I never felt like there was a place that I could call home. About six weeks before I left for the race, my parents made a very unexpected move within a week – traveling from Oregon to Florida and I just about had it. I was exhausted and burnout from not having a safe space to own as my home. I CRAVED LONG-TERM SECURITY. That was something that I was still really hurt from and carried into my world race. It didn’t take me very long to realize that I was going to be moving around, packing up my tent, all my stuff, and getting on airplanes all the time – a lifestyle that fed into this feeling of not having a home. Months of healing proceeded…
And when I brought it back to the Lord and He revealed this verse to me, it all clicked. This longing for long-term security was this holy discontent exploding out of my soul that realized this is why I’m planted in the Father’s house. And every time I move to a new place or step into a new community, I’m not being uprooted ! God never said, “I’m replanting you”. My roots in the Kingdom are secure and when new things come up, my roots are growing deeper. TOUCHING NEW DEPTHS!
I’m planted, secure, rooted in my Fathers house. There’s space for me there.
And lastly to wrap this all up in Revelations, verses 9 through 11 talks about this vision of a countless number of people from all nations, tribes, languages praising the Lord TOGETHER !!! And it says they are all wearing white robes and holding PALM BRANCHES ! This is what we get to move towards! Sharing with the whole world the Father’s abundant affection for us through the Gospel story! This is the cry of my heart. This is what restoring His children to Himself looks like.
When I was writing this, I asked my mom to send me a quick text with the first things that comes to mind about what God has taught her about palm trees. She texted me this back:
“Flourishing palm trees capture my attention. They look majestic, glorifying their Creator while resting, nourished in peace. There’s a tradition of the Eastern Church that states when the long tapering palm leaves quiver in the breeze, they whisper the name of Jesus. I like to imagine that sound while standing near a palm”
Woah. I literally had zero knowledge of this tradition saying that palms whisper the name of Jesus. What confirmation of what the Lord originally told me a year ago. Of course! Jesus is restoration! His mission to restore children back to their Heavenly Father is the story of the cross. Thank you Jesus. Even a year later, still learning in new depths:)
I’m incredibly thankful for the reminder and declarations it represents !!!!! Everything about the Lord points to restoration and He does it all with His perfect love !!!!
With much love,
Layna Jean !!!!
