Connected

I was recently watching a documentary on trees. Yes, you read that correctly….tree’s.  Those tall, bold structures we walk by, sit under and sometimes clean up after, when struck by a wind filled storm. What intrigued me about this program was the title, which implied that tree’s communicate with each other.

As the narrator explained the inner workings of these gentle giants, she began to also reveal how this understood “communication” works. Moving beyond the leaves, branches and bark, there is a system affectionately referred to as the “Wood Wide Web”. This system is underground in what we know to be the root systems of the tree.

Now, most of us know that the roots help to supply trees and other greenery with water and nutrients from the soil. The assumption, I think for most of us, is that each tree takes care of itself.

What I learned about this vast root system under the ground was that it wasn’t simply meant to sustain the tree it grew from. Each tree’s root system has a connection with all the other tree’s root systems around it. Through this connection each tree is made aware of the health of the trees around it.

Now, that alone was impressive, but there was more. When a tree is made aware that another tree close by is malnourished or sick it sends the appropriate nutrients through its root system, allowing the feeble tree to become stronger.

In a particular study done on a grouping of tree’s it was found that one of the most highly connected tree’s in their group, was connected to 47 other tree’s.

 So the trees we see in forests are not just individuals. They work together; they care for each other and help sustain each other when one becomes weak.

I couldn’t help but think about Genesis and the way God created the world.

The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.-Genesis 2:9

And in these tree’s He created a way in which they would nurture and care for each other.

The thing is, God didn’t stop there. Not only has God created an intricate network between these bold and beautiful structures…..He’s done the same with humanity.

We too are interconnected. We too are meant to nourish each other when one becomes depleted. We too look as though we each stand alone, but through the power of the Holy Spirit we are connected in beautifully intricate ways.

Not only do tree’s help to nourish each other, they also help to detox each other if the soil becomes unhealthy.

The spiritual soil of our world is unhealthy in many ways. We as people can become toxic from it.

What we have to remember is that we don’t stand alone. We have a spiritual root system meant to heal and help others. God created us that way.  We too are created to be interconnected. We too are meant to heal each other when one becomes weak. We too are made for a purpose greater than ourselves.

Who is in your root system? Who around you needs nourishment? Who around you is becoming toxic from the worlds soil? How can you nourish them?

We may not have roots but we have words to heal, love to give, prayer to lift up. Don’t allow the world to fool you into thinking you stand alone. That’s not what you were created for. We were created for connectedness. We were created to be relational. The biblical story itself reminds us of this.

 -Pastor Patti