As I drove down my street the other day, I saw a tree stump.
We had a massive storm a few months ago and the tree was knocked down, leaving branches all over the street.
The City Council came in during the week and removed the branches. They also sawed down the rest of the tree, leaving nothing but a small stump less than a foot high.
And that was it, the tree was finished.
Or so I thought.
As I drove past this week, I noticed signs of life.
Fresh shoots were sprouting and new leaves were growing.
It was still alive and wasn’t going to accept defeat.
It had taken everything that the elements could throw at it, been knocked around and even cut down to almost nothing.
And yet it still came back.
Sometimes, we’re like that tree stump.
Sometimes we get knocked around, pushed over and shoved from pillar to post.
Sometimes, we are the victims of genuinely tragic circumstances, sometimes of our own doing and sometimes because life just isn’t fair.
When you’re at your lowest point remember the tree stump.
You can come back from the most humble of situations.
There is life after the storm.
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6 comments
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May 6, 2011 at 3:12 am
Ryan Chua
Very Inspiring. It is true, no matter what problems or challenges life gives us, we should accept it but never accept defeat. But sometimes it’s good to accept defeat and take it as a lesson, then come back again and win it.
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May 6, 2011 at 11:49 am
Darren Poke
Thanks Ryan, I like it.
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May 6, 2011 at 9:35 am
Debbie
Great encouragement, Darren! I noticed the park people had chopped off the top of a tree and all it’s branches. I thought they were going to take it out completely, but didn’t. And I thought it would die from this pretty severe pruning. But it did just like that stump you saw. Started sprouting and growing new. 🙂 Thank you for reminding me!
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May 6, 2011 at 11:50 am
Darren Poke
Thanks Debbie, I love how we can be reminded of such principles if we look hard enough.
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May 6, 2011 at 9:37 pm
Stacey
Love this post. Sometimes we need to prune back our lives to cut out all that is not working, allowing us to move forward with new growth.
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May 9, 2011 at 7:44 pm
Darren Poke
Thanks Stacey.
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