Lesson From a Fallen Tree

This was originally written on September 27, 2009 --------- On Friday morning, this melaleuca tree in our side yard fell over without any warning. Thankfully, no one was parked under it or walking under it when it happened. As you can see from the close-up photo, it looks like it had practically no roots at all. In contrast, the leaves and branches above were way overgrown so the tree had become very top-heavy. It got to the point that the roots were no longer able to support the demands at the top of the tree. I love how many life analogies you can make with trees. Today we had a wonderful lesson in church on faith and how our faith needs to be deeply rooted in order to withstand the challenges we will experience in life. I made a more personal analogy this week. My husband had been on a business trip to Asia for two weeks. Even though my older kids are pretty independent, being mom AND dad for two weeks was getting to me. I could tell that I was getting overwhelmed and needed to pull back and take care of myself. I was aware of compassionate needs at church to which I felt I should contribute, but all I could do was hibernate and take care of my house and myself. This was the right choice. I think it is not coincidental that because I was hibernating and cleaning out my daughter's closet, I was able to find the helmet I needed for my son when he started banging his head. After making sure I took good care of myself last week, "deepening my roots" I am more able to serve others this week. This analogy applies to the house as well. If you take care of the foundations in your home (I love the routines to be found on flylady.net) such has knowing what's for dinner, having the dishes done, beds made, food in the house, the foundation is there for unexpected "leaves and branches" in your day and it makes everything go much more peacefully.