A Breeze in the Trees version 2
Let me ask you for a favor. This piece is going to start out rather “sciency” but the application for us in our lives is profound. Or so I think. Anyway, here goes.
There is a Biosphere is Arizona that was constructed for scientists to study how living systems on our planet really work. I don’t have a list of all that was planted in the biosphere but I can guess that there was a variety of plant life, including trees. The big discovery was that, while trees grew faster than they would in the wild, before they fully matured, they collapsed. Not just one or two trees, but all of them.
As you can imagine, this was a serious puzzle for the scientists. And the secret to the collapse was astounding. Ok, I’ll cut to the chase. It was the lack of wind.
A little more science. Wind causes stress in the wooden load bearing structure of a tree as it is kept moving. That leads to the development of “reaction wood” or “stress wood.” It is that wood that allows the tree to turn toward the light or grow with the wind instead of breaking. Reaction wood allows the tree to grow in a more solid fashion.
Without the stressor of the wind, the tree doesn’t develop the strength it needs to deal with the wear and tear of natural life. There was no wind in the biosphere, so the trees lacked that critical element with the result that they just fell over. Failure to thrive at its most dramatic.
To quote their report: “Stress is what makes a tree strong enough to sustain the wear and tear that it’d face later in life.”
I am often intrigued by unusual and curious facts springing from a field where I am mostly ignorant. Auto mechanics, in spite of my husband’s earnest attempts to explain different facets, remain a black hole in my mind. But this notion of trees simply falling over because they hadn’t developed a method of dealing with stress in their lives really got my attention.
Several examples of wind in my own life popped up in my mind. Did I have the stuff to lean into that stress and adjust my growth to lessen its effect? Or did I break? Fall down? Well, sometimes I did fall but the more wind that has come my way, the more lessons I’ve learned on developing “reaction wood” and worked through it.
Think for a minute about the person who has had a very soft life. The first few times things don’t work out the expected way, a child may run to Mom or Dad to complain, cry, fall into their arms. How is this situation solved? Do the parents fix it, get a replacement, or just divert the child’s attention? Or do they help the child deal with it?
I know that in the last few years when I’ve encountered stormy weather, one of my early reactions is to ponder the question “What does God want me to learn from this?”
Let’s say the wind came in the form of a very unpleasant person I encountered often, perhaps worked with, who was unpleasant and negative. Oh, you’ve met that person, too? I want to be really clear here. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that I can’t fix very many issues and certainly not someone’s depressive personality.
Sometimes what Debby Downer is saying has some validity, but her manner alone could fell a tree. Think through that message and determine if there’s something to learn from it. Then move on. Go have a cup of coffee by yourself or with another friend.
Sometimes I really don’t want to hear her truth as it relates to me. Again, sort through what is said and find the gem that you can’t deny is true, then deal with that. I don’t listen to her when she is talking? Yup, true. Discard the negative and perhaps hurtful way Debby presented this little truth ball, and determine how you can use it for your growth and gain.
Sometimes the wind blows a lot harder than that. My attention in church this Sunday was drawn to a man and his son sitting in a pew several rows ahead of me. I’ve noticed them before due to the behavior of the son who is in the vicinity of 8 years old. He sits quietly next to his father but bobs forward and back, over and over. But this Sunday, having just read about the trees in the biosphere, I had a different thought. I wonder what God is teaching the father through his son’s situation. They come to church regularly and sit in a row near the front. They don’t hide. The father seems very accepting of his son.
COVID was another big wind that gusted through our lives recently. Some people got very sick. Some got cranky. I know I was cranky often enough. People had different ways of adjusting to that wind as it blew through everything in our culture. Yes, it was very disruptive. But what did you learn? Some people broke because of it. Some chose a different way of doing a lot of activities. Some were just cranky. Oh, I said that already. Fixated, I guess.
The next time that wind gusts through your life, identify it, don’t just react. Pause. You may or may not be able to fix it, but you can certainly strengthen your own reaction wood. Bend, don’t break. You’ll be stronger when the next wind shows up.
I won’t kid you. Sometimes that wind is a breeze and sometimes a tornado. Seek to learn the lesson God has for you in it and remember that He is always with you.