I have two favorite trees, the blue spruce and the quaking aspen.  As you may note they are both trees found predominantly in the mountains.  It probably is the real reason I try to hunt each autumn.  I enjoy the aspen so much that I have planted several of them in the yard around my house.  The soil isn’t the best for aspens to do as well as on the side of a mountain in a sizable grove, but they somehow survive with lots of water.  I would like to talk about two of those trees.

This weekend and the few days prior have seen some very strong wind come blowing through, on Saturday it was accompanied by driving rain.  The two trees in my tale were planted at the same time four years ago.  One tree grew to about 6 feet tall with little growth in the trunk, the other tree is about 13 or 14 feet tall with good growth in the trunk.  The strong winds revealed some things about the two trees.  The wind that blew through earlier in the week took its toll on the smaller tree, it snapped off about two feet of its growth off the top.  It is still alive and has leaves and will make a slow comeback, but it has been stunted by the windstorm.  On Saturday, the storm that brought the strong wind and rain battered against the taller aspen, as I watched the tree bend under the strength of the wind, I just knew it was going to break.  But the tree moved with the strong wind but stayed intact throughout the storm.  What made the difference?

I didn’t tell you earlier but in examining the part of the smaller aspen tree I discovered that some of its stem/trunk was dead probably from disease making it more susceptible to break in the wind, plus its very slow growth did not allow for it to be strong in the wind.  The taller aspen that had grown exponentially compared to the smaller tree is healthy with no disease present.  The larger tree has a couple of small new tree shoots coming from its base, which also means its root system is healthy too, which allowed the tree to be very flexible and withstand the strong wind.  I tell you this tale of the two aspens to make a point about being a genuine follower of Jesus.  If you are not in the Word of God, or interconnected with other believers, you don’t grow well and are much more susceptible to sin and its effect on your life that could cause damaging setbacks in becoming a strong growing believer.  On the other hand, if you are in God’s Word consistently, involved with other believers, and making disciples by sharing the Gospel, you will grow in God’s grace and be able to bend, flex and yet remain firm in the strong storms that otherwise might be destructive to you in your walk with Jesus.

The Bible doesn’t reference aspen trees specifically that I know of, but it does reference healthy trees:

“Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,

and he meditates on it day and night.

He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams

that bears fruit in its season and whose leaf it does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers.”

Psalm 1:2-3