Sequoia || Rooted in the Forest

On TV there are two types of high schools typically portrayed.  The first is the one we all dreamt of going to - the preppy high school where everyone hung out outside before class with only one backpack strap on their shoulder.The other was a small high school in the middle of the corn field with toothless kids.  The latter was used solely to joke about the rednecks and their lack of education.

Though nothing about either education system was accurate, I went to the latter.  The small school in the middle of the corn field - literally. I was one of 144 in my graduating class. We might have been small, but we were mighty…especially my senior year of softball.

We had made it to Districts before, even bypassing the first round one year, but we had never had a District win in our school’s history. Third inning, full count, bases loaded…

A swing.  A hit. A hit over the fence...but foul.  I dropped my head as I reached first base.  My coach smacked my helmet, “Hey, keep your head up.  You’ve got this, Fry.” 

I jogged back and got the signal, took one last practice swing, and stepped back in the batters’ box.  Deep breath….and the pitch was released. I loaded my hands, pushed my weight to my back leg, picked up the seams on the ball and… triple to left center!  I slid into third to my coach clapping and cheering.

But it was only the third inning.  It took everyone - our amazing pitchers pitching strikes, our outfield keeping the ball in front of them and hitting their cut off, and our infield making plays, and everyone keeping the morale up in the dugout - to keep the lead through all of the innings.  And we, the small no-name school, made school history that day.

It wasn't because of my third inning triple, it was because of a bunch of girls working as a team.

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I promise...I’m almost done obsessing over sequoias (at least on this platform).  But there is one more thing we need to talk about:

One of the key parts of a tree is its roots.

For any tree the roots anchor the tree to the soil and absorb the necessary nutrients (source).

For a sequoia, the purpose of the roots don’t change, however how the roots function together is different.

Some trees have a taproot - a main root from which the other roots sprout from.  The sequoia, however, has a network of roots. The roots stay fairly shallow and spread over an acre around the tree (source).  Shallow roots might raise concern about the stability of the tree, but sequoias don’t grow alone.  As they grow wider, they grow together (source).  Sequoias are so close, that even when a tree dies, the other trees connected to it absorb its nutrients (source).

The sequoia tells us another thing about us -

we need community to grow.

Did you catch that?

WE - all of us (including me...who would rather live alone in a cabin the woods far away from all existence of people) need community to grow - not just the sequoias.

We all need to dig our roots into the soil - and good soil at that (see Matthew 13:1-23).  Growing our roots in good soil anchors us and lets us absorb nutrients.  Secondary to growing in good soil, when we choose to grow in the forest (the body of Christ), we don’t have to do it alone.  We are not reliant on just our roots to anchor us in the storms, winters, and fires, we have others to keep us steady. Nor are we reliant on our own roots to get all the nutrients (because both us and sequoias need a lot of it), we have each other to help feed us.

I know this all sounds great in theory, right?  But what does it mean practically?

I’m with you doubters.  The fluffy-duffy analogies are great and all, but if they aren’t practical then what is the point. Well I’ve gone from doubter to “experiencer” of the sequoia.

My entire life, I’ve been trying to take root on my own.  I’ve pushed my roots to grow deeper and deeper. But I hit a point where they just wouldn’t go any deeper.  The reality was I was trying to study the Word more and more. I’d take a quiet time anywhere and any time I could.  Because I was pushing myself so hard the Word became stale to me.

Then I was mad at myself because my roots (my beliefs and morals) weren’t growing deeper.  But the truth was, I was a single tree in an open field. I was alone and trying to do this on my own.

I decided to re-plant myself in a forest.  It came as a small group (and later just a strong group of friends).  The other “trees” were reaching their roots to mine, trying to anchor me and give me nutrients.  I wasn’t really into the touchy-feely stuff. But when I let my roots interlock - when I opened up my heart and told my story, my thoughts, my fears, and my victories - I was truly anchoring myself.

With interlocked roots, I began to get more nutrients and get stronger in the Word.  The Word that once was stale became refreshing and nurturing again. My forest became fruitful and healthy.

When winters and fires come, our roots take a stronger hold on each other.  If one tree is suffering (like when I go into shut down, depression mode), the other trees pump nutrients into it.

So to the doubters like me…the sequoia isn’t just a cute analogy, it’s a real, practical way of living.

And if you still doubt me, let me tell you what the Word says...

The Bible says community brings:

     -- Purification (1 John 1:7)

     -- Unity (Ephesians 4:3 & Romans 12:4-5)

     -- Peace (Ephesians 4:3 & Galatians 6:2)

     -- Help (Galatians 6:2)

     -- Completion (Romans 12:4-5)

And the Word is Fact.

So friends, this is the end of part three of the sequoia talk.  We’ll keep checking in this year to see if I actually keep up with the theme.  For now, I’m going to keep pressing into Him and reflecting during the Lenten season.  And I hope you do too. Until next time…