This tree is growing crazy. As I was looking at it, I kept looking for a break of some sort or whether it had been blown down by wind, but it hadn't. If you will follow the line of the tree, it starts to curve to the right, and then continues to grow along the ground...One trunk, no break. I've been thinking about this tree for a week and praying as to what God wanted me to learn from it, and this doesn't happen much, but He gave me two lessons.
1) Be Free to be You...most trees are made and have a natural growth pattern to grow upward, stand tall, and reach toward the sky. This tree is growing just as God intended. It may look different, but it was still created by God and has purpose. The same applies to each of our lives. We have to be free to grow in the way God intended us to grow, even if we don't look like "everyone else".
2) Close to the ground is not always God's best...Looking at the tree also reminded me of lives that "play it safe" by staying close to the ground. Growing tall takes us further from the safety of the ground. It makes us vulnerable, and situations and circumstances don't seem as controlled the higher we get. On this tree, we would probably feel safer to walk and play on it, because the possibility of getting hurt is less. Climbing a taller tree definitely brings more risk of getting hurt, but the excitement and the view once you get to the top is worth it.
