Greetings,
Do
you have a fondness for driftwood like I do?
I’ve been known to drag an interesting piece for miles and then let it dry out
for three months if it was sufficiently unique!
Fascinating
driftwood is often the tumbled root section
of a tree. I spent time this weekend
thinking about roots. Roots of our
families. Roots of our friendships. Roots from our past that make us who we are
today.
Our
roots begin within our families, and if we’re blessed, any dysfunction is
manageable and safe. Roots continue to
grow and spread as we learn and grow older, putting out tender shoots
that grow stronger as we discern our path.
Through experience and hard-earned wisdom, we learn how to prune the
roots that are unhealthy, and how to nurture the ones we want to be
stronger. But sometimes, even with help, we cannot self-prune
or self-nurture our roots and we must learn to live with dysfunction in our
lives.
Have
you ever seen the root of a great tree that at one time ran into an obstacle
and was forced to change direction to stay alive? It’s not predictable or “regular”. That tree, like you, is determined to keep
growing. The root of a tree that has
circumvented an obstacle and kept on growing, lifting branches to the sky is
often the most remarkable. For example,
consider the roots that grew around
an underground pipe, pressed up through
the concrete, or burrow out of the
side of a mountain. They kept growing.
I contend that some of the most interesting driftwood pieces are those
that have a challenged root system.
Consider
yourself in a new light. Boring,
nondescript, ordinary? Absolutely
not! Think of a stunning piece of driftwood art in
the garden, a driftwood piece like you – unwavering, a bit gnarly but
tenacious, with some knotholes and scars, and learn to ADMIRE that driftwood
all the more for the progress it made along the way.
May
God bless the gnarly roots in your life for the visualization of challenges met
– and grown beyond!
Linda Kreter and the VeteranCaregiver Team
No comments:
Post a Comment