take root

FROM "A LESSON LEARNED"
Per our usual routine, every other week Maddox and I go grocery shopping after dropping off Ashtyn at school. This week, on our way home from Wal-Mart, as we pulled into our neighborhood we passed a home several blocks down from ours who had many large, mature trees in their front yard. My boys LOVE trees! I can't really pin point why but I think it's simply because they are so tall, they move in the wind and of course because they change colors in the fall. This past spring we planted a tree in our own front yard (our yard was previously completely tree-less, by the way...) but our tree is still pretty small right now. It has grown quite a bit since when we first planted it but it's going to take quite some time before we have an enormous leaf-losing tree like our neighbors down the street. Well, when Maddox saw those oversized, majestic trees spitting fall leaves to the ground below he said "Mom, look at those trees!" He then said "Why don't we have a tree?" I reminded him that we do have our own tree, in the front yard. He replied "Yes, but why did their tree grow faster?" That's when it hit me...

Lesson Learned? Maddox assumed that our neighbor had planted their tree at the same time we planted ours. He immidiately assumed that somehow we were getting ripped off and that "life wasn't fair". Their trees had grown so fast and our tree is still skinny, gangly and nearly bends in half on a windy day. What Maddox doesn't realize, though, is that the neighbors trees have probably been growing for decades! Who knows how long they've been taking root, soaking up rain water, reaching toward the sun. Who knows how long ago another young boy helped his father dig a hole and plant a tiny tree to watch it grow as he grew until the day that he moved from that house and passed along the growth of those majestic trees to another family to watch, nurture and care for. Those enormous trees were once tiny too. They started out just like our meek little tree. They were once gangly and weak. It was only with the change of season after season, the downpour of many rains, the parching of many hot summers and the freezing of many winters that that proud, tall reaching tree became what it is today. These trees teach us more then just the science of bark and leaves, they also teach us about ourselves. How often do you look at another person, maybe a peer, and think to yourself "Now there's someone who has it all together. If only I had THEIR life I would be happy..." You watch this person. You watch how they handle trials in their life. They seem to walk through each valley with such grace. You see their confidence, their wisdom, their character and even their style and you can't help but wonder "How did I get the short end of the stick?" Just like Maddox, though, we don't realize what it took for our idol to get where they are today. We weren't planted at the same time as them. We're a gangly, weak, wind blown tree barely placed in the soil and the person we strive to be has strong roots tested over time. That person we look up to and even envy at times has lived and stood through generations of harsh winters, decards of intense heat and years of wind and rain. They have dropped their leaves to liter the earth and budded spring flowers over and over again. This idol has survived the trials of the dark cloudy days and stood proud in the most beautiful of sunny spring days. Just remember that your idol is just that...your idol. They are meant to be stronger and taller then us. We're still taking root. We're still forming, growing and shaping into the strong tree we will one day be. And as you grow taller, continuing to watch your "idol tree" down the block remember that somewhere in the neighborhood there is another tiny newly born tree being planted and they will be looking your direction. They will be looking up to you! Don't live your life so desperately wanting to be the tree down the block that you forget to grow your own roots. For one day your leaves will change in the beauty of fall and you'll sprout your own buds in the coolness of spring! You are important. Someone needs you for shade. Someone needs you to watch swaying in the breeze. Someone needs you to carve their love story into. Keep growing! Look up to the tree down the block but continue to grow for yourself too!