It is totally amazing to me how trees can grow in such strange shapes. Stuff falls on them, turns them sideways, but they just find a way to grow up and toward the light anyway. This picture is a great example I ran into a couple months ago on a walk:

Something fell on this guy and totally turned him sideways. I’m not sure how long ago this happened, but it’s long enough that all the branches have grown straight up toward the sunlight. It’s amazing that it’s still alive and growing.

Some of us have junk that’s fallen on us in life and totally blocked our normal growth trajectory. Probably all of us can point to something that has turned us sideways at some point. If not, we probably have one coming in our future. It’s part of living in a fallen world, spoiled by sin and death.

What can we learn from the tree, and from scripture, to help us out?

Keep your roots about you!

In Luke 8, Jesus talks about different kinds of people who hear His good news. One particular type didn’t have strong healthy roots. 

Luke 8:13: “And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.”

The folks described here fall away when hard times come along because they don’t have strong roots. Trees pull the nourishment they need up from the ground through their roots. We too need a steady flow from the One who gives us life: Jesus. We need to be rooted in Him so we’re not cut off from our source of life. We’ll never make it through the “time of testing” without Him. When life turns you sideways, draw from your Jesus roots to stay nourished.

In Colossians 2, Paul writes about receiving Jesus, walking in Him, and being rooted in Him. 

Colossians 2:6–7: “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith…”

This verse speaks about not being totally knocked over. An established tree has roots that hold it up. Something may turn it sideways, but it has strong roots to keep it standing. It is... Established. Rooted. Strong.

ith your roots keeping you nourished and standing strong, there’s only one thing left to do. Keep growing up and toward the light. Jesus is the light (John 1:9).