Years ago there was a dome built to house an artificial environment for a garden. The conditions were perfect. Temperature regulated, perfect amount of light and of course the perfect amount of water to make trees and plants flourish. And flourish it did! The trees and plants grew at an amazing rate. One day as the scientists were checking the garden they noticed that great limbs were breaking off the trees. Why? What would cause this in a perfect environment? As they researched this they discovered that trees develop stress bark from the elements. The howling winds, the snow and ice, even the dry weather. All these things cause stress bark to form on the trees, especially around the limbs. What does this stress bark do? It makes the trees stronger. Able to grow and produce in all conditions. The trees in perfect environment were weakened..the trees left to survive in the elements grew strong, able to withstand the winds of Mother Nature.
Such is our life. We could live in a perfect world, but would be grow strong limbs? I know that the challenges and trials that we face help us to develop stress bark. We grow in character and spirit from the winds and storms of life. We should be thankful for our blessings and our trials. For it is with the trials and how we handle them we become all that we can be.
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