LEARNING FROM THE GIANTS

If you know me at all you probably know that the Coastal Redwood forests are one of my favorite places in the whole world. If you come to the west coast, I will encourage you to take time to wander through these amazing trees. Their official name is Sequoia Sempervirens, Latin for “forever living,” and they can live for over 2000 years. They are found only in Northern California, nowhere else in the world. This is part of God’s creation you won’t want to miss.


My favorite place in the redwoods is a short trail in the Humboldt Redwood State Park called the Drury Cheney Trail. The trail winds about 2 ½ miles through old growth redwoods surrounded by an abundance of redwood sorrel and ferns taller than my head. The trail is well marked and starts near the north end of the Avenue of the Giants.

When God created these massive giants He was surely thinking of the lessons they would teach all who bothered to observe them carefully. I hope the lessons I have learned in the land of the north will help you appreciate these giants as you walk among them.

The first thing you will noticed about the Coastal Redwoods is their height. They can grow to over 300 feet tall (the tallest known living redwood is 379.7 feet tall) and they point straight toward heaven. They may be 8 to 20 feet in diameter. The tops of the redwoods are inhabited by many living things, most of whom never will touch the ground. Hundreds of different plant species live high in the air where we can’t see them, nurtured in the branches and trunks of the great trees. There are many birds, insects, and bats that live off the trees as well.

In spite of their height, redwood roots go only six to twelve feet deep making us wonder how these giants stay standing when the winds blow on them and when other trees fall against them. They have a secret. They send those shallow roots out fifty to one hundred feet, digging into the crevices of rocks and intertwining with the root systems of other trees. The forest is interdependent. They know they need each other.

The redwood trees do not cease to be useful when they die. One of the things I love about the redwood trees is the fact that when the giant falls, it becomes nourishment for other parts of the forest. Ferns, redwood sorrel, and little trees dig their roots deep into the fallen giant and are fed as they grow. Walking in the forest you will frequently come to a large circular area surrounded by small to medium size redwood trees. That bare spot is the area where a giant once stood. Although it is no longer standing and there may be no sign of it left, all the trees surrounding the area where it once stood are drawing nourishment from the decaying roots of their fallen parent.

Some botanists suggest that if a redwood tree becomes diseased or malnourished it will draw nourishment and energy through its roots connecting with the roots of the trees around it. Those neighbors will feed the tree until it is healthy once again.

God intends that those of us who are members of the body of Christ be very like those redwoods forests. He has given us giants who provide comfort and encouragement to those of us newer in our faith and He has made us dependent on each other and on Him.

I look around my church and see faithful men and women who live, not for this world and all they can accumulate for their own comfort, but to serve God and others--the folks who pick up the elderly on Sunday morning and get them to church, the couples who make themselves available to counsel with those who are struggling in their marriages, some who clean house and pull weeds and fix cars for the single mom or for one fighting terminal cancer, those who take meals to the bereaved and those who are willing to just listen. The list could go on and on. As each of us does our little part the forest becomes strong and nurturing.

Then there are the giants who have fallen--men like Gilbert, Warren, Ed, Jack, and many others. They were gifted men who prayed powerful prayers, served sacrificially, and taught us to live by and treasure God’s Word. Women like Eunice, Bernice, Jackie, and Sophie taught us to love and serve our husbands and children and to spread that love out to cover others who were not blessed with Christian homes and godly examples to emulate. They taught us how to read and study God’s Word and how to apply it to our daily lives. Although they have passed from our sight into the presence of their Savior, their impact lingers as young ones who have been touched by them grow up to take their place and the forest continues to grow strong.

In God’s family we need one another. Like the redwood tree sends out its roots to twine around the roots of its neighbors in the forest, so we must draw close to other believers and depend on them when we are weak. God wants us to be there for each other. If one is weak, someone will step in to share the burden and strengthen the struggling. If one falls into sin, someone will confront in love and draw the straying one back. By loving one another, encouraging one another, being kind to one another, and instructing one another, we each contribute to the health of the body. We don’t always do it well—in fact, we often fail to do it at all—but we, too, are yet imperfect. God is still working on us.

In eternity we will see the entire forest at last. We will finally understand how the forest was blessed and strengthened by the small part that we played as we submitted to the Holy Spirit and allowed Him to work through us. Surely the mighty redwoods have many lessons to teach us.