Roots Are Critical

March 27th, 2007 |

It is hardly worth mentioning in light of the devastation that hit the gulf coast, but it now appears that the Lewis household did suffer one casualty as a result of Hurricane Katrina. The winds from Katrina that made their way this far north were still so strong that they partially uprooted a wax myrtle tree in our backyard. The roots were not exposed, but they were sure out of place the morning after the storm. We tried pressing them down and sometime later even prune the tree back to give it a chance to recover, but to no avail. It is on it’s way out. At first there were no visible signs that anything was wrong. However, over time the branches stop spreading and the foliage that is still on it is turning yellow. I have been slower to accept it than Kathy, but he verdict is now in, it will have to be replaced. The tree will soon be gone but the lessons it can teach us should remain for a long time. One lesson this incident definitely teaches us is that ROOTS ARE CRITICAL. I would even be confident in saying that if you are a tree, roots are everything. Without roots a tree can not support itself ,and to sustain the storms in life the roots must run deep. Be sure today you are firmly rooted in Christ. If you are not is only a matter of time until some storm will take you down. The second lesson from my tree is that APPEARANCES ARE DECIEVING. The visible signs of problems with the tree did not really appear until years later. In fact it was last summer’s drought that truly revealed the poor condition of the tree. The final lesson for now is this, HOPE IS FUTILE or I should say can be futile if it is placed in the wrong thing. Wishful thinking is not enough. Our hope must be placed in Him.
If your spiritual like seems stunted today and your leaves appear a little on the yellow side, maybe it is time to check your roots or better yet check with the master gardener. Only He can identify and rectify the problem.

Yard Wisdom,

Bro. James