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Lessons from an oak tree
Originally appeared on spirituality.com
Have you ever seen a giant oak tree whose branches spread out over hundreds of feet in all different directions? They are huge, substantial, and heavy masses weighing thousands of pounds. I’ve often been amazed and wondered how those branches don’t just snap right off! But all the branches of the tree are supported by one foundation – one trunk, one root system. While the tree’s root system is unseen and sometimes unappreciated, the proof that it exists can’t be denied. In fact, it’s been said that a tree’s root system grows out two to three times wider and deeper than the height of the tree itself.
The deeper the roots go, the more the tree can grow up and out, spread and mature. Order of growth is important as well. Roots must grow first because the branches of the tree can’t grow until the roots can support and sustain them. So the “unseen” needs to be established before visible results are realized.
The comparison one can draw to “spiritual roots” is undeniable. There have definitely been times when it’s seemed I haven’t been able to feel God’s presence. But as I’ve come to understand how I fit into God’s plan, and better understand my perfect place in His kingdom, a kind of spiritual root system has developed in my thoughts. And with this growth comes freeing beauty that is visible “above ground,” in my life.
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