Roots and Storms

Friday, March 13

A few days ago we had severe weather in Oklahoma (tis the season). At our house we mostly had pea-sized hail, heavy rain and some strong winds.

The next day I was talking to my wife, who was at home. “Remember that sound you heard that you couldn’t figure out what it was? It was a tree falling into our fence.”

Sure enough, a tree in our yard had been blown over in the wind. Nothing major, no damage to anything other than a fence, but an inconvenience. Here’s the thing though.

The winds were strong, but in Oklahoma we get some pretty severe winds. This wasn’t anything particularly unusual. So why, in a yard full of probably 10 trees, did this one fall? It fell because it was dead. It didn’t have a strong root system. So as soon as the winds kicked up and the pressure was on, the roots snapped and the tree collapsed. Every other tree in the yard? Good to go.

I know it’s cheesy but this is a metaphor for life. We will be hit with storms. We will face adversity. Obstacles will appear. And if we don’t have a strong foundation, we crumble. If our roots aren’t deep, we blow over. If we have nothing to anchor us, the storm wins.

The key is to do the work today. Build a strong foundation today. Build an unshakeable identity today. Establish a resilient mindset today.

Because the storms are inevitable. Do the work to be prepared.
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Keep chopping wood. 🪵🪓

-Kevin