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| The mighty oak (national tree symbol of USA); photo by Christopher Bruno on Flickr (noncommercial use permitted with attribution / share alike). |
Oh to be the Mighty Oak
towering and strong, with deepest roots,
not easily moved.
Once vulnerable to the winds and storms,
the threat to be easily uprooted,
but now, after steady growth, it reaches skyward,
giving refuge--and thus life--
to the squirrels and robins and cicadas,
arms reaching out, solid to provide.
It still sways and rocks in the winds,
sensitive enough to respond with gentle grace,
but stable to withstand the storms, unmoving, firmly rooted in truth.
Naturally, it bears its acorns in season,
but not unceasingly.
Unashamed, it is content to appear stagnant,
knowing that its steady change from season to season
will lead to new growth and abundant fruit in due time.
It soaks up the sun--the source of its life--and basks in its light,
serving as a filter for others to encounter that radiance.
Inspiration: Psalm 1 (Blessed is the man who['s] delight is in the law of the Lord...He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers) and Ephesians 3 (that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surprasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God).
