Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Lessons from the Recent Wind Storm in Michigan

There was something God showed me about the storms of life when we experienced the horrible wind storm in Michigan that took out power lines and created such damage in the tri-county area. It was an eventful 4 days for us as we lost power for that long, others were without power for many days.

There was something I noticed during that time - many of the trees that were destroyed, (pulled up by the roots and fell over in yards and on the side of the roads) were mostly pine trees. After further study and discussion with others, I discovered that pine trees are not deeply rooted trees. They have a 'ball' root system that does not go deep into the ground. Hmmm.. if we are going to be able to withstand the storms of life, our roots have to go deep into the heart of God and the truth He provides us. Something I longed for as I saw these majestic, beautiful trees that had fallen and been uprooted was for someone to simply come along with the right equipment to lift them back up into place and then tend to the ground and the area surrounding them.. perhaps even putting a support in place to hold them up for a time until they could recuperate and heal from being brought down -- oh how we need people in our lives to do that for us as well.  Yes? 

One more tidbit He showed me... There were many pine trees that were not affected at all... Do you know which ones they were? The ones that were not alone - there were pine trees in groups, those in a line with others that seemed to not be impacted by the strong winds at all. Lesson learned: we need to be in community to stay strong and withstand the storms. Standing alone.. or thinking we can, without others pursuing the same values, goals and character changes will only leave us susceptible to the Evil One and make us weak. I have seen this over and over again in our health and wellness programs. People start out great but.. temptations come, old patterns of thinking, etc. come in and there is no one in their world (immediate circle) pursuing the same goals, etc so.. they fall. Every time they fall, it is harder to get back up... and just like the pine tree, they need help and support to get back up. Whether we are trying to change our life-style, heal from hurts, forgive the unforgivable, live a righteous life in a sin-sick world, we need to do it with others. Choose your friends wisely.. choose today to allow people to plant their roots near yours... together, with others, we can do this!