Rooted and Resilient

“Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations.” *

            Growing along our back fence are some tall, spindly fir trees. They aren’t very pretty to look at with asymmetrical and lanky branches, some of which crisscross the others. Many of their branches are even broken or bare of needles.

Every time a storm blows through and I see them flailing about in the wind, I pray that they’ll stay upright. If one happened to fall, it could cause great damage to nearby structures, the fences separating one yard from another or the overhead power lines. 

Just in the three years that we have owned the property, they’ve survived some gales with wind gusts up to sixty miles per hour, while other more massive trees in the neighborhood have succumbed. The firs must have extremely strong root systems keeping them upright.

“Resilient” is a good word to describe those trees. They have “the ability to bounce back or spring back into shape, position; the ability to recover strength, spirits and good humor quickly…” (Websters’ New World Dictionary). A definition online gave this additional meaning: “The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties, toughness.”

The fir trees seem to spring back into their original shape, maybe minus a few branches, after the storms pass. They’re tough, hard to uproot. When the top of one tree had to be cut off, two lower branches immediately began competing for the “leader” role. In a short period of time, they pointed upward and grew rapidly. Seasonal storms bent them over; however, before long, both bounced back.  The topped off tree is now beginning to look somewhat normal again.

Now how about us humans? What factors contribute to our resiliency in the face of trials and adversity? What can help us bounce back or cause us to become even stronger than before?

Jesus’ disciples were severely tested during his arrest, trial and crucifixion. Life as they had known it for the time spent with Jesus was disrupted…and would never be the same again.

            Imagine the roller coaster of emotions they experienced—everything from the horror of knowing that he was going to be crucified and for some of them, the horror of being there when it happened; experiencing the grief of losing him; and then rejoicing when they realized that he had indeed risen from the dead, just as he had predicted.

Imagine the hope they felt when they heard his voice, saw him alive and received a commission from him to go into all the world sharing the good news. Then they had to let go of him again, watching when he was taken into heaven and holding onto the promise that he would one day return.

Shortly after that severe persecution began, causing many of his followers to flee from Jerusalem to neighboring countries and provinces. But instead of diminishing, the believers began to grow in numbers as well as in their faith. Deep roots!

 Patience, courage, perseverance, toughness and flexibility along with the belief that Christ was with them helped them survive and thrive. The early ‘church’ experienced the joy of salvation, held tightly onto hope of eternal life and depended on the power of the Holy Spirit day by day, hour by hour in tough circumstances.

 Those same ‘roots’ are available to us when we put our trust in God. He is our anchor in situations over which we have no control, such as the world wide health crisis that has overtaken our communities and disrupted our lives. Many of us have experienced multiple sorrows during the past month from the loss of a family member or friend, becoming unemployed or other ripple effects of the pandemic.

During this Easter season, may we experience His resurrection power at work in our lives and in the church. He has given us a new song to sing, one of salvation. Easter joy to you all!

“A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed…” Isaiah 40: 3-5a NIV  

*Psalm 98:1-2 NIV