Trees are amazing. I don’t know if you’ve ever gone out for a walk and stopped to gaze at a tree that is big, thick, and so tall it towers over the rest of them, but if not, be sure to do so. Do it as often as you can. Consider, as you stand at its base how long that tree has been around and how many years it has seen go by.

Yet beyond taking the time to marvel at how long that tree has lived have you ever stopped to look at the same tree and seen all the scars and marks it bares? Have you seen the dents and felt the ache of loss it has faced in those years? Do you see the places where the bark has been ripped off by animals, man, insects, and the weather? Among all of those trials that tree is still there. It stands tall and proud and patient. It waits as time goes by.

Maybe there are branches missing. Maybe half of it lies broken on the ground or there’s moss too thick to see its base. Maybe burns blacken its side or fungus grows along the trunk or creaking limbs. They could be signs of past trauma or things going on beneath the surface. Maybe they are a sign of deeper trials yet to come.

But that is the same for all of us.

To be like a tree we must weather the storm and stand tall while displaying missing limbs and bark and leaves. Those same things that make us not so pretty to look at as all the younger, healthier trees are a part of the growing process. It doesn’t make it any less hard or easier to face when those things come along, but it is a testament to a power greater than our own when we remain faithful and upright and continue to grow amidst the storms life throws at us.

May we all be like trees in a forest, sturdy and standing as tall as we can among the other trees, ready to receive what comes our way with grace, strength, and courage. May we remain to display the scars we have as examples not only of what we have suffered, but what we have come through. May our lives inspire others to keep growing through the storms and make proud the one who made us as we persevere like trees.