No
difference.
By James
Dodwell – Hammers of Hope Good Morning,
Recently, I was working on a job and had to call for an inspection. Once the inspector arrived, he exited his car with an attitude and I could tell from a distance that it wasn’t going to go well. When he entered the house he started right away finding things he said were incorrect. I wanted to disagree, but I knew it would make matters worse, so I just did as he asked, kept a cool head and asked him for advice and his recommendations.
He began to settle down a bit, once he saw I wasn’t on the
defensive. Then out of the blue he said, “Where do you live?” I told him. Then
he said, “My daughter and her husband use to live down that way near the lake,
but now they have moved elsewhere.” He went on to tell me his son-in-law had a
construction company, but he was battling brain cancer and surgeries, and along
with the treatments, the combination had left him unable to handle the
business. He looked forlorn as he said, “I am not sure what will happen in the
future.”
We talked on for a few more minutes, as he settled back into
the man I hoped he would be, then he asked me to call him when I had the
”recommendations” complete and he would come back to approve. As we walked out
of the house together, I noticed a tree in the yard that I had seen a number of
times, but had never really looked at it. The tree was the size of a large
shrub; a Silver Maple tree; however, growing out of the trunk on one side was a
red maple branch that had been grafted to the trunk years before. There they
were, two completely different varieties of Maple tree, living on the same
host, taking nutrition from the same trunk and root system, sharing the soil,
minerals and water in the same space. They were both healthy with vibrant red
leaves on one branch and the greenish-silver leaves on the other branch.
It was obvious, the little Maple tree had been well cared
for and nurtured to be able to thrive and grow. Another observation was it did
not matter to the host whether it was a silver Maple branch or a Red Maple
branch that was reaping the benefit from the nutrition being provided; the host
trunk was there offering a good foundation and support. It reminds us, in our daily walk, if we are
attached to strong principles and values, along with unwavering character and
integrity, we can exist together growing and stretching to reach our potential.
It doesn’t matter that we are different. Our differences are what make us
unique. What matters is the source of the life support system in which we are
attached or grafted.
The bad news is that we don’t always attach or graft
ourselves to a source of support that has strong values and principles, do we?
Sometimes we want something else, until we get it. The good news is when we
surround ourselves with encouraging people who are the salt of the earth, who
mentor us and help us quench our thirst for knowledge, whose life model helps
us to maintain a positive attitude and joyful persona, whose words and actions
nourish and fertilize us with the Word to help us to stay rooted and grounded,
we find ourselves strongly supported as we go through life making a difference
and adding value to others.
I encourage us today to build our life foundation on good
principles, good values, unwavering character and integrity. Surround ourselves
with other who can help us stretch and grow to reach our potential and continue
to share the faith, hope, joy and love we have within to those without. Micah
6:8
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