The Tree of Love – Erik Guzman

 

The light held her swathed in comfort and filled with peace. She wasn’t afraid of what would happen or sad about the past. She had no sense of the passing of time at all. Everything was right and good, a perfect moment of deep joy. She was safe. She was home.

She opened her eyes. Thousands of stars floated in a cosmic sea of color, and she swam with them. She wasn’t only bathed in brilliance, it radiated from her. No shadow would be able to come near her without disappearing in the light.

The light of Love continued to shine all around and through her until she realized that she and the light were one.

Her breath was the wind rushing over plains and through trees. A river ran through her, giving life to the world. Oceans, deserts, mountains, and forests covered her. Roots reached into her, drawing nutrients from her soil. Life flowed through her and into the leaves of the plants that clothed her.

Birds flew across her body. Creatures of every kind lived on her land and in her seas. Drops of rain splashed on her flowers. Sunlight surrounded her and fed her fruiting branches as she breathed in the air that tickled her leaves.

A question erupted from deep within her body, deep down in her dirt. “Am I the earth?” she marveled.

“You and your husband are the conscious creation,” the voice said, “the head of the body. You are the garden from your dreams, and you were made to be filled with light and Love.”

“How is that possible?” It was all so glorious, but too much to take in.

The light gently lowered her into the flow of time and cradled her just above the ground in the center of the labyrinth. Duron soared high above in the expanse of a hazy afternoon sky. Her skin tingled. She turned her head to look at her arm. Her wounds and scars were gone. Her skin glowed with the swirling colors of a rainbow and pulsated with each breath. Her whole body seemed to be breathing; inhaling and exhaling light.

Filled with wonder, she asked, “What’s happening to me?”

The voice was a summer breeze, “The seed has filled you with life and light,” it answered. “Soon you will be able to see Love.” She realized that the voice of Love was now coming from within her. “Everything is as it should be. Don’t be scared. Sleep. Trust me to care for you and keep you safe.”

The light of Love embraced her with its warmth. She completely relaxed in its protection and drifted off into deep slumber.

 

***

The woman shimmered as she slept. The voice spoke to the seed within her, “Ilan, she has accepted your undying seed. We have reunited with her.” Her belly swelled from beneath her shirt until it was bare and glowing like the moon. “You have filled her and drawn her into yourself. Your shoot will come forth, blossom, and fill the whole world with your fruit. Nali will flow once again. It won’t be long now. You will succeed where your brother failed. The Love Fractal must grow.”

The voice sang in Duron’s strange tongue, a joyful chant that became a deep tone ringing like a large chime. The song reverberated through the woman’s sleeping body and she trembled in tune with the light. More tones, some high and some low, sounded and laced together in a supernatural chorus.

A tender green shoot with one gleaming leaf grew from her belly. The plant sprouted branches and more radiant leaves. Roots moved across her stomach, reaching from her body to the ground. Bark formed as the diameter of the growth increased. The woman was beneath a fresh arch of winding wood with a tree growing above it. The tree grew to be much taller than a man and just about as thick. The branches filled with luminescent leaves.

The voice’s singing became laughter dripping with delight. The tree waved, fanning a fragrant breeze that swirled around her. The root structure quivered, cracked, and stretched upward, rising above the woman to form two legs.

Her skin stopped glowing and her belly was flat, without a mark on it.

The tree’s larger limbs swayed and separated the radiant canopy. They morphed into arms with long, green fingers. The bark on the trunk of the tree thickened and grew features that began to resemble a torso and a head, and then it cracked and flaked away. As the bark fell to the ground, it revealed a smooth upper body with emerald skin and a face like a man with a leafy, blossoming beard. Lush vines grew from his head, hung to his waist and then flowered.

 

guzmanErik Guzman is the author of The Seed: A True Myth and The Gift of Addiction: How God Redeems Our Pain.

Erik has worked with Steve Brown for over 18 years. He is VP of Communications & Executive Producer at Key Life Network. Erik is co-host of the nationally syndicated talk show Steve Brown, Etc. and announcer for Key Life.

He has a BA in Mass Communication and an MBA. Erik is perpetually working toward a Masters in Theological Studies.

Erik’s wife tolerates his insanity and his three children enjoy it.

Erik is also a drummer, a 5th degree black belt in Aikido, and a self-obsessed over-achiever who can’t stop talking about himself.

This post is adapted from The Seed: A True Myth, © 2016 by Erik Guzman. Used by permission of New Growth Press. Excerpt may not be reproduced without the express written permission of New Growth Press. To purchase this and other resources, please visit newgrowthpress.com.

No comments yet.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.