Broken Dependence

I was taking a hike through the woods this morning and this broken tree caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. It was so striking to see the base of the tree quite literally split in half, yet somehow the tree was still holding together well enough to not be completely laying on the ground. I looked up and realized that the top of the tree was being held up by multiple trees around it. The trees around it were sustaining the weight of the tree, allowing it to still stand, even though the base of it was fractured. 

The trees that were once competition for sunlight, water, and nutrients for this broken tree, had now become the tree’s literal life support. The broken base required the tree to depend on the strength of the trees around it if it was going to be able to stay held up. In a group effort of collective strength, the trees were sustaining the broken one.

Brokenness can be a gift because it can make us realize our need for others, and force us to depend on the strength of those around us. 

As brothers and sisters of Christ, we are called to bear each other’s burdens. Like the trees sustaining the weight of the broken tree, we are to carry the weight of each other’s burdens. And  like the broken tree leaning on the strength of the healthy trees, we are called to depend on our brothers and sisters for strength and sustainment when we are unable to carry the weight of our burdens ourselves.

Sometimes God breaks us in order to discover the beauty of healthy dependency on others. When we are healthy and thriving, it is easy to fall into the lie that we don’t need anyone to help us grow. In His love, God sometimes has to fracture the foundation of our lives, so that we become desperate enough to let others in to help hold us up. 

So if you are feeling like the broken tree today, look around for the healthy trees in your life, and let them hold you up. And if you are feeling like the healthy trees today, look around for broken trees in your life, and let your love and strength sustain them. 

Galatians 6:2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.