A tree planted by the water

October 16th, 2026

Dear church family

"But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit."
Jeremiah 17:7-8

The above passage has come up several times recently in my personal devotions and in prayer meetings. The picture is of a strong tall tree whose roots reach deep into the life-giving water that causes the leaves to be so vibrantly green. That tree, however, was not always so tall and strong. It was once a seed that grew into a weak sapling that gradually grew stronger until eventually others could find shade under its branches.

There is a modern twist of an old saying, 'The greatest oak was once a little nut who held his ground!' I love that version because life is so much more fun if we let ourselves be just a bit nutty every now and then!!

The point is that it is the winds and rain that bend the sapling back and forth which forces the tree to send its roots deep. If it doesn't the tree won't last long – it needs a deep strong root structure to hold it in place. It also needs a source of life-giving water and once the roots have found that source to drink deeply from, 'It does not fear when the heat comes'. The winds, rain and heat will come but the tree can stand firm because it has prepared well.

This is such a great analogy for the Christian life. Adversity will come and we need some adversity to force us to dig deep and stand strong. If we want to successfully grow in wisdom and maturity, we need to ensure that we are feeding ourselves correctly. We know that a diet solely consisting of fizzy drinks, chocolate, burgers and sweets will take us to an early grave. Similarly, we need to choose our daily spiritual diet carefully so that we have our roots in truth. If in the good times we develop a healthy rhythm of worship through prayer, regular fellowship, Bible reading etc. in the difficult times we are naturally going to lean into God which causes our faith to mature and our confidence in God to grow.

We need adversity to cause us to grow; If life was always easy, we would remain immature surrounding ourselves with things of little strength and value. It is through the tough times that we learn what or, more importantly, who to hold onto! It is then that we can bear good fruit for the Kingdom of God and through our experiences can help other saplings to find their source of strength and sustenance in Jesus, sending their roots deep.

Once we have true trust and confidence in the Lord, we along with the psalmist can say:

In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord,
make me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4:8)

Have a truly blessed week and dig deep to grow strong! Let's become a forest of strong oaks standing together as one.

Much Love,

Paula

SUNDAY SERVICES | 10:30AM
Join us in person this Sunday in Ashford, Brabourne or Finberry

Ashford - Giving - Jerry Newson
Brabourne - Love Your Neighbour - Roger Edwards
Finberry - Friendship - Chosen Love - Kelly Carolan

You can also join us online from New Wells Ashford: https://youtu.be/S0MleseySWk

GIVAUDAN 10K We had a blast at the Hype Station this year! Well done to everyone for crossing the finish line! We loved supporting you on your way - it was especially lovely to see some familiar faces in the race too!

LADIES BREAKFAST - TOMORROW
Saturday 17th October (8.30 for 9am start) | New Wells Brabourne
We look forward to seeing you tomorrow for a lovely cooked breakfast! Bookings now closed - feel free to email Val if you have any questions: val_geoff@btopenworld.com

HOLIDAY CLUB - OCTOBER HALF TERM
Sign up here: https://newwells.church/kids
Our holiday clubs are packed with fun and completely free for children aged 4–11, running across our sites in Ashford & Brabourne! If you would like to volunteer to help please email matt.wardley@newwells.church

POWER HOUR - THIS WEEK
Thursday 22nd October | 8-9pm | New Wells Ashford
Prayer is important <3 Join us as we pray & worship together as one church family

New Wells - Power Hour - Socials_Weekly update square.png

PRAYER WORKS
Book an appointment via our website: https://newwells.church/prayerworks
Are there times when you just need someone to pray with or for you, but aren't seeing anyone to ask or are not able to get to church? We are offering personal confidential face to face and occasional online prayer appointments with members of our prayer team called Prayer Works (because it does!).

ASHFORD INVICTA SINGERS - IN CONCERT
Saturday 24th Oct | 7pm | New Wells Ashford
Supporting the work of Ashford Street Pastors. Tickets: £10.00 including refreshments

BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE - INTERPRETED SERVICES
Sunday 25th Oct | New Wells Ashford
We are pleased to have David with us to interpret our Sunday Service

AGM UPDATE We are meeting on Sunday 22nd November at New Wells Ashford at 6pm. The evening will include a time of praise and worship as we celebrate our Annual Gratitude meeting together!