The Invisible Tree – Kirrily’s Story
It was 2009 and I was exhausted.
I had just given birth to my 3rd son Elijah, and not a week went by when I didn’t suffer a bout of mastitis, and not a breast feed went by that wasn’t marked by incredible pain.
My victory was getting through each day and my prayer was a constant cry. It was around this time that God, in His mysterious, marvellous and upside down ways, started to teach me about the power of joy.
I discovered that when I faced the day with a positive outlook and enjoyed my children in the midst of the pain, I would find the energy I needed to get through the day. When I allowed the pain to cast its shadow over me and the growing responsibilities to overwhelm me, my energy would rapidly leak.
Being a pastor and a speaker, a new message was birthed. A message about the power of joy. The message came with a catchy tag line that I couldn’t get out of my head. It went like this;
“I’ve lost my joy, where could it be? Is it under the apple tree?”
After listening to this cute line play on repeat in my head, I decided to sit down and write. And on a Sunday afternoon before getting up to preach that evening, I wrote a fun little poem about finding joy.
The response to the poem that night was the beginnings of The Invisible Tree Children’s Books – a series of Children’s Picture Books based on the fruit of the spirit.
It is now 2016 and “Love”, “Joy”, “Peace”, “Patience” and “Kindness” have been published, with the latest in the series “Kindness” released just last month. What an odd, fun and unexpected journey, all from a little line of poetry I couldn’t get out of my head.
Many people ask me if I always wanted to be a writer. To be honest, it wasn’t on the agenda. I was a criminal lawyer until my mid twenties, when my heart was pulled toward the cause of Christ and His church.
Now, I pastor an inner city church in Sydney with my husband Tim, whilst raising my 3 lively boys.
The writing comes out of a desire to bring expression to the word of God in the most beautiful, unique and creative ways that I have the capacity to bring forth. I believe the word of God should be communicated in every medium, children’s books is one – a very fun one!
Kindness – Book 5 in the series is about the beauty and power of kindness through the eyes of a child in Uganda. The story is actually based on the Compassion Sponsor Child of the illustrator, and the illustrations paint the beauty of the nation of Uganda.
It is a reminder, through the language of poetry that Kindness can indeed turn the world around.
“If only I could catch this sound, I could turn the world around.
Like streams of water in a dry land, is the gift of kindness in my hand.”
To purchase any of the books go to www.theinvisibletree.com.au.
And enjoy!
Love Kirrily xx
