Go with me on this. You are a tree. Yes it’s weird, just go with it, you’re a tree. And I want you to think of every part of your tree as people in your life.
So the first part of your tree underneath the surface are the roots. The number one root on your tree is The Lord, He is your source for sustenance. The roots are the people in your life that will never leave. Never, forever and ever Amen, on your gravestone, they’re going to be right there with you because they stayed with you the entire time. These might be family members, friends, parents, sisters, best friend since 2nd grade, husband, wife, whoever that might be, those are your ride or die people, never leaving. Here’s the thing: You don’t have many of those. You don’t have many roots, none of us do.
As you keep going up your tree, you are going to have big ole branches that come off to the side. Those are the people that are in your life for multiple seasons. I’m talking season after season after season, years, maybe tens of years. They’re in your life and they’ve changed you, given you support, been there with you through the best and the worst of times. But eventually, even the best and the biggest and most incredible of branches, if a big enough storm comes, can be knocked off. These are people who you love dearly, who you probably even think are roots. You may think they’re roots, but God knows that they’re branches. He knows that they’ll only be there for however many more seasons, but eventually they’re going to fall off. A big enough storm can take them out. But they gave you so much life and so much incredible beauty. They added so much color, so much experience, knowledge, and love along the way. No matter how it ended; whether that be death, a move to a different country, drifting apart, whatever that may be, I pray that you are able to see the death or loss of those relationships not for the way they died or dissolved (which can be ugly sometimes, especially if they were really close to you), but rather that you see them for how they lived, and what parts of your life that they changed just by being in it.
And then there are the leaves. And those are beautiful. They are beautiful and vibrant people who come in and their personality just clicks with yours and they just change you and you have incredible moments and conversations. But they are the shortest lived of all the things on your tree. The leaves are only in your life for a season. Maybe that’s a week, a day, a year, it is just very short lived. They bring color to you and they change your life, but they die off after that season. And that can be super painful. But the problem isn’t the fact that they are dying off, or that that relationship ended. The problem is that you think of that leaf, and that you expect every human in your life, every leaf, every person that brings you joy, you expect for that person to be a root. But that’s an unrealistic expectation.
You can’t have a million roots, you just can’t. We can’t tolerate a million roots or we’d be so watered down and diluted that we’d never get sustenance, true sustenance and nutrients. You can only have a few roots. But when you put a root expectation on branch or leaf people, it leaves you feeling so empty and so betrayed and so alone at the end of the day. So I pray that you see the death or loss of these branches and leaves for the life that they brought to you, instead of holding this bitterness, unforgiveness, and resentment for how they left you. I pray that you have the maturity and spiritual awareness to be able to see how they changed you for the season of life that they were there, and for the ways that they showed you how to love, taught you things, showed you how to be a better person, brought you closer to The Lord, whatever that may be you fill in the blank. No matter how it ended I pray that you’re able to see it for the beauty that it was, and I pray that you’re able to recognize that not everybody in your life has the capacity, nor has God designed them to be a root. I pray for a depth of understanding that God would reveal to you who your leaves are, who your branches are, and who your roots are, and that no matter how hurtful it was, especially those branches, when they fell off that you are able to recognize that God didn’t intend for that person to be a root. As much as you wanted them to be, as much as you needed them to be, He knows what’s best for you and He will not leave you without.
Last on your tree is the moss. Those are the people that you know shouldn’t be there. You know they shouldn’t be there, they suck the life out of you and lead you down paths you don’t want. They lead you to do things you don’t want to do that aren’t in your character, and they push you farther from The Lord. They consume, and take and take and take and never give. That’s your choice to let that moss stay on your tree. But if you don’t clean that moss off, those people that you know who shouldn’t be there, no matter how attached you are, that moss will continue to grow and grow and grow, until eventually the tree, no matter how great and big and strong or how much life and future God has planned for it, will keep continuing to grow until that tree dies. Don’t allow the mossy people in your life to consume you and to take your purpose.
Realize that these people that have left you, they haven’t left because you aren’t worth it, they’ve left because they aren’t roots. You were meant to have only a few branches, even fewer roots, and a lot of leaves. And they all bring different beauty and different perspectives into your life. Trust God, trust Him with all your heart. He knows you, He knows your heart, He knows everything about you, and He knows what’s best for you. As long as The Lord is the number one root in your life, your beautiful tree will stand tall, because your true sustenance for life comes from God and only God.
