REFOCUS
Take a moment (about 2 minutes) to push away all thoughts except for the one below. During this time, know that the Lord is with you as you pray, breathing slowly and deeply.
“My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:2)
READ
Matthew 28: 19-20
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.
5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us
REFLECT
Growing Roots
A certain man was pleased to visit a family friend that owned an orange grove. He looked forward to his time with his buddy and perhaps to bringing home a bag of juicy oranges. He expected to see green trees with brightly-colored fruit. Instead, he found that the trees were struggling. Some of the leaves were brown and dry. What fruit there was looked small and puny. His host explained that the local irrigation system had broken down and because the season was unusually dry, some of the trees were beginning to die.
He had just started back when he saw another grove that was alive with color. He was also pleased to see that the grove had a stand that sold the oranges. After purchasing a bag of delicious looking oranges, he commented on the plight of his friend.
“You sure have had better luck than him,” the visitor said.
The old farmer looked amused. “That ain’t no luck, son,” he said.
“Are you on a different system?” he asked.
“Nope.”
“You have backup system?”
The farmer replied, “Naaaw. Same system. These here trees could go without rain for ‘nother two, three weeks.”
Now the visitor was puzzled.
“Are they a different kind of tree?” he inquired.
“Nope,” said the farmer.
“They got different roots.”
Then He continued, “Ya see, when they were young, I’d hold back the water from ‘em, so they start puttin’ down their roots deeper and deeper so they can find some water. Now’s they’s the deepest-rooted trees in the whole county.”
It was then that the visitor understood. While others’ tree were being scorched by the sun, this farmer’s trees were finding the moisture they needed at a greater depth. They had grown deep through the hardship they had experienced.
Depth matters. Researchers who study the ability to recover from hardship have found that those who have endured struggle are more able to handle larger stresses and hardships. They develop coping skills, including the ability to lean on God and others. As their relationships with God and others grow deeper, they are able to withstand more. Research tells us that this involves a process where the pre-frontal lobe of the brain (the part that allows us to stay focused on goals and resist temptation) is strengthened. Or as St. Paul puts it; “Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance produces character; character produces hope. . .”
But there is more. Not only are these people able to withstand more stress, they are able to give more to others. The same researchers find that the most resilient people are those who have learned to use their struggles to reach out to others. They serve. The fruit of their struggle is seen in the ability to understand and to care for those who are in trouble. They can empathize with those in trouble, while others just give cheap “answers.”
When we are struggling, it is difficult but nonetheless important to remember these truths.
It is easy to get stuck in the pain of the moment.
It is difficult to imagine that any good could come from our situation. But what is true of orange trees is true of humans: depth matters.
See it or not, we are promised that our present situation will allow love to be “shed abroad.” Deep roots produce good fruit.
RESPOND
Questions to Consider
- Can you see ways that you are growing or have grown through struggle in the past?
- Who are you better able to love – to understand or comfort because of that struggle?
Prayer
Almighty God, thank you for the way you use even the struggles of life to cause me to grow. Allow me to see beyond hardship to the strength it can provide – for me and for others.
Blessings,
Rev. James R. Needham, PhD, MDiv