Last summer I went with my grandchildren to this quaint little park called Brace Canyon Park, in Burbank, California. There is a play area of swings and slides, and there is also a beautiful little tree. It is the most popular attraction in that park because of the shade it offers from the hot California sun.
TREE GROWING SIDEWAYS
At first I only noticed the thick, lush foliage that provided such perfect shade over those lucky enough to catch a chance to sit under it. Then I noticed something startling to me! The little tree had grown sideways – not up to the sky, but bent to the earth. It was shaped like a sideways L. It was a perfectly full grown crooked tree. THIS is why it provided such epic shade. It was like a gorgeous veranda – “a roofed, open-air gallery”. It was the most unique tree I had ever seen – and completely opposite of how every other tree grows, which is generally straight UP. In essence, it was scarred, imperfect, and all kinds of wrongs. Except that it had kept growing. The beautiful tree grew bent with its imperfections, and as it grew its imperfections became its purpose.
That bent tree spoke to me that day. It was as if it said, “See me? I am you.”
I remember that in that instance just a simple walk in the park brought tears to my eyes and hope to my soul. That tree was a visual of my life. I thought, wow – I may have grown up sideways and crooked and maybe my soul is not the perfect height of others, but I have a unique purpose no one else does. It is mine BECAUSE of my scars, my imperfections and all kinds of wrongs.
PURPOSE FROM IMPERFECTION
My granddaughter found me this short blog online, with her google search being – why do some trees grow sideways? and I was like WOW WOW WOW. “Tree branches will grow to give the most leaves the most light, even if that means growing sideways…So when branches grow crookedly, that’s part of a tree’s overall survival strategy. Trees have sensors that detect light and gravity. From the moment a tree begins its life, it knows which end is up. Trees will generally attempt to grow toward the light and away from gravitational pull. But, as a tree gets older, its branches tend to grow more outwards than upwards. That’s so the tree can cast a wider net to catch the light of the sun.” (quote credits to https://earthsky.org/author/earthsky/) Mind officially blown!
I think at this point I just need to own it. Like that tree, just be who I turned out to be. And be okay with it. God doesn’t make mistakes, but He can turn broken into whole and imperfect into perfectly imperfect. Maybe imperfect IS the new perfect!
The end of a story is better than its beginning. That tree was in its prime – it was its own crowning glory for all to partake of. I don’t think anyone was critical or ashamed of the fact that they were picnicking under a deformed tree. They saw its beauty – they appreciated its purpose, and its crookedness accomplished both. It was beautiful and purposeful only because it was crooked.
FINDING MY PURPOSE
I am SO ready to be shade for others under the bent branches of my life. I am SO ready to NOT see myself as flawed anymore. God will use us in spite of our bentness and maybe more BECAUSE of it! Hallelujah! But God! That’s me. THIS is the shade I offer – That we CAN heal. That we can change. That we can see our own value. That we can blossom. That we can be outrageously beautiful with all our imperfections. That we can find our purpose and embrace it with relief and JOY.
On this road less traveled, I found complete exoneration from my past. I am no longer just surviving – I am thriving! I get to speak LIFE and BLESSING over myself and my family and over the generations from my bloodline. The buck has stopped with me.
“I am no victim
I live with a vision
I’m covered by the force of love
Covered in my Savior’s blood
I am no orphan
I’m not a poor man
The Kingdom’s now become my own
And with the King I’ve found a home
He’s not just reviving
Not simply restoring
Greater things have yet to come…” (“I Am No Victim” by Kristene DiMarco)
The tree has finally bloomed where it was planted. Thank you little tree in the park of Burbank, California. I heard you that day. It turned out to be more than just a walk in the park. Who knew the cool shade under a simple twisted, bending tree could change a person’s life.
#theroadbeyondthebolteddoor
#beautifullybroken
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