From the Inside Out

“What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

Recently there were many trees cut down on Willeo Road next to our neighborhood to make room for a new Senior Living facility.  I love trees, and it saddened me to see them go!  I kept hoping they would spare the old oaks, but that wasn’t to be. These trees were lush and green on the outside and looked healthy with no visible signs of decay.  Once the wood was cut and stacked, I saw what I could not see from the outside -some of them were sick on the inside and thus dying from the inside out.

Experts say that other than the usual fungus, bugs, or bacteria, two things are mostly responsible for a tree’s decay.  The first is scars left by different ordeals during the years such as blunt force trauma or storms. The second is weak branch unions which means the branches aren’t securely attached to the tree trunk which is its source of life.

I’ve heard it said that you should “Never judge a book by its cover.”   People tend to put forward their best by showing others their “outside” self while inside they are dealing with scars. They are smiling on the outside while inside they are dying under the worry, disappointment, and fear in their lives.  I know several people who are dealing with scars, and when I see how hard they work to present a “happy” outside, it breaks my heart because I know the inside turmoil they face.

If branches need to be securely attached to the tree which gives it life, it makes sense to me that we need to be securely attached to our Heavenly Father who give us strength and enrichment for our lives.  It’s easy to think all is well when in fact, we are dying on the inside without the Father’s sweet touch and love.  We need to attach ourselves firmly and completely to the tree of life, Jesus Christ.  He can help us deal with the scars and keep the union strong.

“But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness.”  Romans 8:10