Gnarly Trees Have Great Views

Trees that grow in pine fields fight for sunlight at their tops and wither from lack of it at their bottoms. Planted in rows, they are usually pretty all alike, because their opportunities are pretty similar. The ones that are at the edge of the field, though, get sun down their sides. Their limbs and needles stay alive a bit longer on the side that faces out. Other than this exception, the trees are pretty similar because they are creating each other’s environments.

A tree that grows near the sea shore has a different look. Wind almost never ceases from the sea, where there is no other tree or hill to break it. The trees near the beach are leaning away from the ocean. They usually have gnarled, short limbs that have suffered from storms.

Trees at the top of mountains are storm-beaten, too. They may grow from a crack between rocks. A tree at a great height has little to protect it from wind and ice. Water is scarcer as distance from the valley to the top of a mountain increases.

The trees with the greatest challenges have the best views. The less sheltered we are by crowds, and the more we draw near to the Spirit (the Wind), the less we will resemble the crowd. The more we are influenced by the Wind, the less we look like the crowd. We may, though, look less important or less powerful or less popular or just weird. Being molded and formed by the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus is worth any stigma or insult.

Be awesome!