I have kept this picture on my phone for over a year and a half. This tree is growing out of the side of a huge rock at Eagle Point, in the Dominican Republic.
I’ve looked at it numerous times and marveled at how a tree could grow like this !
It’s mesmerizing to me.
How strong its desire to grow is… How resilient !
I’ve been mulling over what to write about this tree for eighteen months… then the other day my friend, Jacquie, shared these perfect words:
“We share with the trees creative ways of growing, regardless of the challenges we come up against. Trees will even grow through rock, shattering it, in their effort to reach the air and light they need to survive. We are similar, with the ability for growth and the conditions that promote it. We can find ways around the obstacles that get in our way as we move along our paths, moving toward the light as we make our way upward.”
Plants, such as trees, begin as a seed. Think about it…the tallest sequoia started out as a seed. They were created to grow. As I taught my kiddos at school, a seed first grows roots and then a shoot. That shoot instinctively grows toward the light. Trees will grow in the tiniest crack and smallest pocket of soil. Their priority is to draw nutrients from the soil in order to survive and GROW. They grow toward the light, sometimes in awkward ways but always toward the light. (In case you’re a just a little geeky like me, it’s called phototropism. 😉 )
I find it so inspirational that this tree is growing in and shattering this rock.
Our home is in a pecan orchard. Squirrels bury pecans and forget them so we get pecan seedlings that sprout up in places where I don’t want them. If I don’t catch them early, they put down strong roots. In one particularly tight place, I’ve cut this little pecan tree down and poisoned it a few times but it keeps growing back… It is RESILIENT !
I’ve known people who are like these trees…those who have been cut down to the ground. People who have been placed between a rock and a hard place and yet, they keep growing. They keep pushing their roots deep into the soil and standing tall regardless of their circumstances. They find ways to grow around obstacles, in spite of them, always toward the light .
Light allows a plant to grow and produce food in its leaves to nourish the plant. Believers, too, grow in the Light of Christ. We were created to grow. In Him our roots grow strong and deep. We gain our strength and resilience from Him.
Please pray for our brothers and sisters in the Dominican Republic and Haiti on the island of Hispaniola. They, too, are dealing with this virus and the strain on their medical systems. The Dominicans are under a 45 day State of Emergency. Many medical mission trips have been put on hold during these challenging days…
Dinah's Dabblings 