Truely random thought...

We were out at our house taking some pictures today, and I took this one of an old crooked tree in our back yard. Tonight, I was looking at the pictures and noticed some things about it. Nothing too deep but pretty obvious. It is incredibly crooked, it has some pretty big scars, and it is very healthy. This is where the random thought process comes in. I started relating my life to this tree. First of all, the scars. All of us have these in our lives. These are the difficult moments life will throw at us. For this tree, it may have been lightning or another tree falling on top of it. Who knows? My life, like any other has had its share of hard times. Next is the crookedness. This is also pretty easy to apply. Our lives never follow a definite straight path. I would have never thought I would be working where I am, living where I am, and doing many of the things I am doing. Life is constantly changing.

This brings me to the final observation. The health of the tree. I asked myself this, "Why is this tree still healthy with all it has been through?" It is simple, no matter what got in its way, this tree never stopped reaching for the light. How does this apply to my life? I am going to have my share of lightning and other trees falling on top of me through life. That is simply life. The question is how do I react to those situations. Hopefully, like this tree, I will keep focused on the light that gives me strength and will overcome these things to remain spiritually healthy.

Too many times, when life is tough, it is easy to lose sight of the light and focus on what has happened. It is important to take note of these things and grow through them, but it is not right to dwell on them and lose sight of the light.

Obviously, for me, that light is the light of Christ. As a believer, I know the importance of staying focused on his light. I would be a liar to say I have always done so. So, if you ever come to visit our new house, take a look at the old crooked tree (which will probably have to bear the weight of others via a swing, but that's another topic all together), and see if it applies to your life as well. You might be surprised, or you might think I'm a little crazy...Either way, you won't be the first.