CRACK! BOOM! I sat up in my bed, my heart pounding in my chest, and a startled scream escaping my lips. I was a teenage boy and had been sleeping deeply a few seconds ago. The gentle rain that was falling when I went to sleep, however, had turned into a savage storm while I dreamed. The lightening strike that had just hit felt like it was right outside my window. It took me a long time to fall back asleep again.

The next day I walked out to a small spring about 50 yards from our home and saw where it had hit. It had wrapped itself around an Oak tree stripping off the bark and splitting the trunk. I felt bad for the tree knowing that it was done for. The next year, though, I noticed that the tree hadn’t died. In fact, it had fresh, new, green leaves growing on it and the burnt bark was starting to grow back too. I was amazed at the resilience of this tree and couldn’t believe that it had survived such damage.

Recently I was reading something that shed fresh light about that tree. It was a scientific study that showed that the forest floor is all interconnected. When one tree is damaged the other trees will share their own nutrients to keep it alive and growing through their root system. Reading this made me smile. I felt a renewed appreciation for the Earth and all of God’s glorious creation. And I thanked God for this beautiful world we all live in.

Looking back at my own life I see that I have taken quite a few lightening strikes as well. Yet, through them all I have felt the love of those around me. I doubt the strongest tree could survive what each of us goes through in this life. Thankfully, we aren’t alone. We are a part of a loving forest. And when one of us gets hurt, others are always there to help us heal. We aren’t meant to stand alone. God wants us to be a part of a greater whole, one created in Love.