My friend once told me a story about an experimental habitat that was built in a dome. Everything within the dome existed in a controlled environment. There was never a threat of storms in the dome. There were never any strong winds. The weather was supposedly perfect.
As time went on, the trees in the dome grew tall and full. All seemed to be going very well until it started to happen; the limbs and tops of the tall and heavy trees starting breaking from their trunks and crashing to the ground. The trees were proving to be too weak to support the weight of their growth. The crashing limbs and tops were causing great destruction within the dome.
After much investigation into the matter, it was determined that without strong winds the trees were not able to strengthen as they do in nature. It was proven that the continuous bending of trees caused by the winds actually strengthen the trees. In response to internal minor breaks caused by bending, a tree will actually generate more growth in those areas, thereby strengthening it. The experimental habitat had to be shut down as scientists were not able to generate the stormy weather suitable for proper tree growth.
We have had some pretty stormy weather here lately. On the really stormy nights I gather all our children together and we all sleep in the same room. Though the weather remains the same, just having us all together brings such a peace to my heart. I know that no matter how rough it gets we are in it together and that is what matters most. Though I don’t like the stormy weather, I thank God for it. It is the storm that brings our family together.
A family tree is also strengthened by stormy weather. Sickness, job-loss, and exceedingly stressful days are just a few of the storms we face. We can pray that God would remove all of storms in our life but by doing so we are, in essence, praying to live in our self-conceptualized controlled dome. God is still God in the storms. He is in control and He knows just what our families need to grow strong. He will prepare us and we
will not fall down if we stay rooted in Him.
It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain. – Isaiah 4:6
