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!
