Wayne Weekly “Broken Branches”

Yesterday morning I had quite a shock as my favorite tree in our yard, and ornamental pear, had lost a huge branch, that nearly made up about one-fourth of the tree. My wife and I were at a loss for words.

The tree was relatively young, having planted it maybe 6 or 7 years ago to replace a huge silver maple that had seen better days. The tree grew fast, pretty close to 40 feet by this summer. It had a beautiful shape and made a great place for various types of birds that would visit the tree’s birdfeeder. It was just a few weeks ago that Evie and I were sitting in our yard and commenting on how beautiful the tree was and how much we liked it.

When I returned home from work yesterday, I promptly went to the garage and took out my pruning saw…and got to work. I eventually retrieved the birdfeeder, now broken into several pieces, and a light post with lanterns, now horizontal, that I bought for Evie for her garden. The limb was surprisingly heavy and I thought “no wonder it broke off”.

I’ve heard that trees get their strength from being stressed in the wind as they grow. I recall reading that if you anchor a tree tightly, not allowing it to bend, it will end up not being very wind resistant. Our pear tree was planted in a pretty sheltered area, probably not getting a lot of wind. Could that have contributed to the broken limb with the dozens of branches it held?

I’m reminded about the trials we face in life and what James wrote:

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” James 1:2-3

We know that God puts trials in our life that help to strengthen us, to teach us, to mature us in the faith. We’re continually being tempered and brought into more of a likeness of our Savior. The Scriptures declare:

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”                                                                              Romans 8:28

The Word of God does not say those things are joyful, but the fruit those difficult times produce is priceless in God’s blueprint for us.

I don’t know how our pear tree will withstand the damage, but I do know that our trials in life have a good outcome…endurance.