if your're going to be a tree, be a palm tree!

Palm trees! They just conjure up images of gloriously balmy, sunny, sandy beaches and crystal clear blue seas. An extra comfortable beach lounger, a cool drink and of course, a good book. Oooh, beam me up Scotty!

Palm trees are for many of us part of happy memories of family holidays, things of some beauty and beneficial shade; but, there's a lot more to the palm tree than immediately hits the eye. Palm trees as a rule grow in sandy, rocky places, with lots of sun and not too much rain. they have to dig deep for the nutrients they require to grow.

Fact 1  you can chop into a palm tree and it won't die, unlike most trees where their nutrients are stored just below the surface of the bark, the nutrients of the palm tree are stored deep within.  

Fact 2  the root system below a palm tree is always considerably higher (taller) than the actual tree you can see.  Its roots stretch down to the depths to find the water and all they need to sustain life.

Fact 3  when a tropical storm hits, the palm tree can bend to the ground from one side to the other time after time but it will not break. In fact a palm tree is stronger after a storm has passed over!

The palm tree is deceptively strong, it is resilient, it cannot be broken by the rigours of daily living. It digs deep in order to feed and nourish itself and sustain itself when life gets rough.

As Christians we should be like the palm tree, we should root and establish ourselves in the presence of God, in His Word  in prayer and fellowship with Him and with  our brothers and sisters in the faith. Our root system should be bigger than our visible selves and that strength will protect us and sustain us against attack and the world when the storms hit. We may be bent, wounded, beaten down but we can and will bounce back and stand tall again.

In Ephesians 3:17 -18 Paul prays "I pray that out of the riches of His glory, He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth of His love." 

I can't think of anything better than being rooted and grounded in the love of God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit!