WHY THE ACORN?

1. Acorns remind me of a kid's treasure chest; the bowl that sits beside the bed filled with shells, bird feathers, sea glass, already wished upon dandelion stems and...acorns. I still have one beside my bed. I've added my dad's cufflinks and a few champagne corks.

2. Acorns are often overlooked but are beautifully intricate. 

3. The Native American proverb “From tiny acorns mighty oaks do grow” reminds me that an investment, no matter how small, can grow into something huge.

4. To fulfill the purpose for which it was created an acorn must be broken. It finds its way into the darkness of the earth which seems like death. But the sun, rain and soil envelop it and nourish it. Little by little that cracked acorn develops roots as an anchor. As the taproot grows down, a shoot of life grows up to push through the earth and become a seedling. That seedling fights the bigger, taller trees to find its light. That oak matures and stretches its sturdy branches to provide shelter and produce more acorns continuing its legacy. 

5. Isaiah 61 says that eventually those who grieve will trade ashes for beauty and mourning for joy. They will be wrapped in praise not despair... to be called “Oaks of righteousness, a planting for the display of God's splendor.” 

6. I like drawing the crisscross pattern of the cap, it's fun.