I met my friend Anna at Sugar House Park, near Salt Lake City, to reconnect and chat. We both love to be outside and the idea of meeting there sounded so lovely. As we walked through the park to find a place we could sit and talk, I couldn’t help but notice gigantic trees laying on their sides! The area recently experienced hurricane-force winds that toppled trees by the hundreds.
Anna mentioned how the trees looked so strong and healthy, but their roots actually remained really shallow. So when the exceptional winds hit them, the shallow-rooted trees toppled right over.
What a shallow root system!
As we continued through the park, we noticed there were lots of towering trees that still stood. Their tall and steady strength stood in stark contrast to the toppled trees nearby.
We talked quite a bit about roots and strength. What helps us build a deep root system? What are the hurricane-force winds in our lives?
We’ve both faced tempestuous winds that have tried our faith and refined our souls.
Standing Steadfast and Immovable
Me and Anna Maeser standing with the strong trees who survived the storm.
Recently in General Conference, President Russell M. Nelson used the metaphor of standing strong and steadfast in the turbulence of natural disasters.
[O]ur spiritual foundations must be solid. Then…we can stand “steadfast and immovable” because of our faith.
The Lord taught us how to increase our faith by seeking “learning, even by study and also by faith.” We strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ as we strive to keep His commandments and “always remember him.” Further, our faith increases every time we exercise our faith in Him. That is what learning by faith means.
For example, each time we have the faith to be obedient to God’s laws—even when popular opinions belittle us—or each time we resist entertainment or ideologies that celebrate covenant-breaking, we are exercising our faith, which in turn increases our faith.
He later promised:
My dear sisters, let us not just endure this current season. Let us embrace the future with faith! Turbulent times are opportunities for us to thrive spiritually. They are times when our influence can be much more penetrating than in calmer times.
I promise that as we create places of security, prepare our minds to be faithful to God, and never stop preparing, God will bless us. He will “deliver us; yea, insomuch that he [will] speak peace to our souls, and [will] grant unto us great faith, and … cause us that we [can] hope for our deliverance in him.”
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Now is the time to assess the strength and depth of our roots. What are our triggers? Where are we weak? Where are we strong?
As children of God, we actually are so capable and strong! We choose which direction we face, where to find our food and water sources, and how deep to grow our roots. As our relationship with the divine source of all things develops and matures, we can stand next to the eternally steadfast Tree of Life, steadfast and immovable ourselves.
“Come to the tree of life
Partake of the fruit
I feel the love of God
And you’ll feel it too, when you
Come to the tree of life
There’s joy here and peace
The greatest place in all the world to be
Is at the tree!
The greatest place in all the world to be
Is at the tree!”
“The Tree of Life” by Shawna Edwards
I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have moved 64 times and have not tired of experiencing this beautiful earth! I love the people, languages, histories/anthropologies, & especially religious cultures of the world. My life long passion is the study & searching out of religious symbolism, specifically related to ancient & modern temples. My husband Anthony and I love our bulldog Stig, adventures, traveling, movies, motorcycling, and time with friends and family.
