Like a Tree
Words and Music by Kimberlee M. Leber
©2017 My Diary Publishing (BMI)
I was born in November 1968
It was the day before Thanksgiving
Just down the street from Ashbury and Haight
My mother had me for fifty dollars
At the University
All the interns watched intently
While the doctors delivered me
He was born in September 1970
The third child in his family
His father read him the Bible
Ever since he was a baby
Separately we were growing like a tree
With each passing season and year
Until we turned eighteen
To discover where our lives would lead
Oh, yea yea
He was ushering in a church
He opened the door for me
And I knew right then in my spirit
He was gonna marry me
Yes, indeed
Yes, indeed
Ooh, indeed
Together we were growing like a tree
With each passing season and year
And I sang “Grow Old with Me”
As we had a perfect wedding
Oh, yes we did
Yes, we did
We have followed the dreams in our hearts
Even fell down a time or two
But, with the Lord deep down in our spirits
We've always gotten up again renewed
Oh, it's true
Yes, it's true
Oh, it's true
Together we have grown like a tree
With each passing season and year
Now it's our twentieth anniversary
And we're gonna have a baby
Oh, yea yea yea
Yes, we will
Yes, indeed
We're growing, like a tree
Fruit bearing tree
You and me
Yes, indeed
Good fruit indeed
Mmmm
Inspiration Behind the Song
This is the story of my husband and I from birth to adulthood, separately growing up in different parts of Northern California, and then eventually meeting in church in our twenties.
The metaphor of growing “like a tree” is something my mother used to teach me about when I was a child. She said that my life was like a tree with different branches, and that I could choose how I wanted to grow.
Years later after becoming a Christian, this notion of being “like a tree” took on an even deeper Biblical meaning for me, and has profoundly grown in my heart over time. I treasure Scriptures such as, Jeremiah 17:7-8, where it tells us that as we trust in God in all circumstances, not giving into fear, we can be “like a tree” planted by the water, always bearing good fruit.
This last year my husband and I celebrated our twentieth wedding anniversary, and the Lord gave me this song in my spirit as I was in the studio writing for this album. It became a sort of wedding gift from my heart to my husband's, honoring family, our blessed marriage in Christ, and the many seasons of life we have experienced.
With the release of this new CD baby, we are so grateful to be continuing to bear good fruit for God. Our prayer is that this album, “Like a Tree”, will plant seeds into the heart of every listener, producing a blessed harvest that actually permeates, helping to make the Earth more like Heaven.