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| photo by Vince Carrillo |
When we first moved in to our house, we thought the trees
were so beautiful. After a few years, one of the trees started to die. It was
odd, because it was only dying on the left side of the tree. When we
looked more closely we realized it was actually two trees, planted very closely
together, so they looked like one tree. Each tree was only growing branches
away from the other tree.
It was so weird, because both trees were getting the same
amount of water, which in New Mexico is not much. They also got the same amount
of sunlight, which in New Mexico is an awesome amount. They both got the same
wind, snow, hail and they were planted in the same soil. So, what made the tree on the left die
and the tree on the right thrive? It
turned out that the tree on the left had a disease. It was rotting away from
the inside out. It looked like the flourishing tree most of its life, but
the rot from the inside of the trunk, finally made it outside to all the
branches, and the tree died.
It reminded us of how we are planted next to other people.
Some people we are close to, we live close to, we work closely with. Some
people, in our family, even look like us. I wonder how many people we are
planted next to look fine on the outside, but are dying on the inside?
Some people we are
planted close to do not have the Living Water that we have. They may look
like they are thriving for a while, but deep down they have a disease that is
eating them from the inside out. How often do I live my life thinking about
only my side of things, not worrying about how people all around me are dying?
Proverbs 3:18 Wisdom is a tree
of life to those who embrace her; those who
lay hold of her will be blessed.
Reminds me of our question in Sunday School yesterday- who is speaking into your life right now? Who are you allowing to speak into your life? A good reminder to be aware of those beside us- the good and the bad! Thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteGood insights!
ReplyDeleteBrings to mind a discussion I just had with my mom. She is 77, and has loved the Lord since she met him when she was 32. She said some days she still finds herself at the end of the day realizing she allowed the busy-ness of the day to keep her from spending time with Him. I realized this is a daily choice we all make...to get our daily drink of Living Water. Otherwise, we can look good on the outside but inside are dry and empty. Great thoughts, Robyn.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you all liked it. Those two trees can be applied to so many situations, like the ones you mentioned Michele and De. We are still reminded of them every time we look out our kitchen window.
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