We Need the Wind

by Emily Conrad

When we were kids, my younger brother would collect acorns, bring them inside, and start trees. However, when they got a few inches tall, they’d droop, too weak to stand upright.

He heard sometime later that the element the trees were missing wasn’t sunlight. At least, not completely.

The missing ingredient that would’ve strengthened the young tree’s stem-like trunks? Wind.

When I picked up some acorns, he warned me I needed to let them spend time outside because the air inside is too still.

The acorns sprouted tap roots long before winter let up, so I planted them in cups and seedling starter pots inside and away from the shocking cold. Now that it’s above freezing during the day, I’ve been moving them outside most days for the combination of sunshine and wind.

But I started to wonder. Was my brother right? Is wind really necessary for growing a strong tree? Or is the difference sunshine?

Because, let’s face it. I would much rather believe I only need good things to grow.
I would rather blame the challenges in life for making things harder.

I don’t like to admit that perhaps, some of the struggles lead to a deeper faith than I could achieve any other way.

A quick Internet search assures me, from multiple sources, that seedlings do respond to breezes by becoming stronger.

The struggle makes a young oak less susceptible to collapse.

The struggle does the same for us as Christ followers.

Not only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance, character, and character, hope. Romans 5:3-4, NET

But let’s imagine, just for a moment, that we didn’t face trials. What if our lives were all sunshine?

As Moses looked forward to the Isrealites taking possession of the promised land, he issued this warning:

“When you eat your fill, when you build and occupy good houses, […] and when you have abundance of everything, be sure you do not feel self-important and forget the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, the place of slavery.” Deuteronomy 8:12, 13c-14, NET

A few chapters later, the Lord confirms how the people will respond in the time of blessing:

“For after I have brought them to the land I promised to their ancestors—one flowing with milk and honey—and they eat their fill and become fat, then they will turn to other gods and worship them; they will reject me and break my covenant.” Deuteronomy 31:20, NET

In times of sunshine and blessing, it’s easy to start to feel self-sufficient. Secure. Strong and able.

Forgetting our true needs, we wander from the One who provides.

Nothing shows us how dependent we are like a trial that’s bigger than us.

I typed that line and stopped. Because right now, we’re all in the midst of one such trial. This new virus has brought heartache and changed our lives in ways I wouldn’t have imagined possible just months ago.

I didn’t expect this post to directly touch on the pandemic, but the wind has ruffled all the branches of the tree, hasn’t it? It’s hard to talk about trials right now without my mind–and my words–blowing this direction.

From the thick of this, it’s hard to feel self-sufficient.

Knowing people are suffering, it’s also hard to point out that God will use it for good.

When I did that search about whether trees need wind, some results popped up about how wind can damage trees. We know this is true from experience–we’ve all seen trees felled by storms.

What if, instead of a breeze that strengthens us, some storms topple us?

Believer, sink your roots into Christ, and you will stand strong in the most important ways.

Yes, our bodies may waste away. Yes, we may face overwhelming challenges humanly speaking.

But God will not be overwhelmed.

As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians,

“Therefore we do not despair, but even if our physical body is wearing away, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary, light suffering is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison 18 because we are not looking at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NET

God is sovereign, and He is good, and He does promise all things work together for those who love Him.

Including trials.

Though I would prefer life be all sunshine and no wind, it seems that the God who created acorns and oak trees to grow in environments with both also uses our struggles to form us into the people He wants us to be.

It’s through the challenges that we grow in our faith, perseverance, and hope.

Whatever wind may come my way, blessed be the name of the Lord.

My blessing is on those people who trust in me,
who put their confidence in me.
They will be like a tree planted near a stream
whose roots spread out toward the water.
It has nothing to fear when the heat comes.
ts leaves are always green.
Jeremiah 17:7-8, NET

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Photo credits
Oak leaves photo by Sorin Gheorghita on Unsplash
Woman holding acorns photo by Tim Umphreys on Unsplash
Oak seedling photo, my own
Graphics created on Canva.com