Susan's Homeschool Blog

If you’ve never seen the giant redwoods of northern California, you are missing out on the largest trees in the world. The redwood giants rise majestically out of the ground, reaching upward into infinity. Some of the trunks are so large that our entire family holding hands couldn’t reach around them. Some of these trees are 2,000 years old, having been alive when our Savior walked the earth.

The bright sun shines down in dappled rays through the branches of the redwood trees, illuminating the soft texture of the corrugated red trunks. Some of the largest ones have toppled over under their own weight; I can imagine one slamming to the ground, shaking the earth with its crash. You can see the root system underneath the fallen trees, the huge network of roots reaching out in all directions.

Scripture refers to the righteous as “trees planted by streams of water; whose leaf does not wither.” (Psalm 1) If I am a tree, I am a redwood. Inside the trunk is a fire-resistant chemical that enables the redwoods to withstand forest fires. Extremes of temperature and storms actually make the redwood stronger. If you plant a redwood in a calm location, it will die. In many ways, our lives are strengthened spiritually as we go through trials and cling more closely to Christ. Further trials in life then cause us not to be shaken because of the solid firmness of our faith. When you see God work in incredible ways through difficulties, you no longer dread what the future may bring, knowing that God is with you.

May we be called “oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.” (Isaiah 61:3) Yes, may I become like the redwood giants, bringing a deep sense of strength to those around me.