Weathering Life’s Storm

 How the mightiest have fallen!

While going to the market this morning, I saw the tallest and strongest of all the trees in the Sea Shell Park (Opposite my house) uprooted and toppled due to the rain and storm last night.

These trees were planted since the park’s inception in 1994 – a good 27 years! They have withstand many storms and strong wind. Today, they meet their demise, I wonder why? And so I started to do some investigation and went up the park.

On closer check, the 2 fallen trees are still healthy. The workers has sawn them up into pieces. Their trunks still look strong and no sign of rottenness. And it’s not easy to saw the strong and healthy trees compare to rotten one. No wonder so many workers are needed. And take the whole day to remove them. So, it is not the health or age of the trees. They can continue to grow for many years. There are also many strong trees in the park still standing well. Why did these 2 trees fall?

The strongest tree at the entrance of the park

 The fallen trees are the planted at the edge of the slope! The soil must have eroded quite badly and the roots has no more gripping power to hold their weight.

Second fallen tree

 Staring at the fallen trees, a few lessons came to my mind:

While it is important to stay healthy, it is also equally important to have strong foundation. The soil that it is planted must not erode or soften when rain and storm come. In life, we need to develop strong life’s principles – integrity, moral values and upright character. Without which temptations and tribulations will uproot us. Not only that, the foundation of this life’s principle must be built on good soil – Biblical principles. Regular Bible reading is like doing self-check on the soil of which our life’s value are planted. Is there any erosion taking place during life’s encounter daily? The workers came only after the trees have toppled. If only they come regularly to check the soil and improved on them, the trees would still be standing strong!

Secondly, why did the park attendants plant the tree at the slope of the park? Shouldn’t they all be planted at least on flat ground, inside the perimeter of the park? This bring me to where I stand as a Christian. Am I standing “inside” Christ, my Lord or outside at the slippery slope of His influence? The phrase “In Christ” suddenly give me a better understanding as I watched so fallen trees planted on the slope outside the perimeter of the park! They are not “in-park” so to say.

John 15:1-5 “Those who abide in me (Christ) and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me, you can do nothing.”

 

As I continued to stare at the worker going through the tedious task of clearing the sawn trees and loaded them up into a truck, I wonder whether they were going to burn them.

Cut-up trees loading into truck

Then John 15:6 popped up my mind: “Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned”

As I left the park, I am asked with this important question: “Am I rooted in Christ such that when life’s storm and rain hit me, I can still stand strong, rooted in good soil and Biblical values?”

Yes, and also doing regular soil-checking of my life through Bible reading and meditation.

Are you rooted in-Christ too?

 

Agape