Greetings dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
This is Kelly Snelgrove with For God’s Glory Alone Ministries – fggam.org. I will be filling in today for Pastor Dewey Moede. Thank you Dewey for this time to share with you and your Daily Cup readers!
Recently, I was watching a documentary that made reference to the Giant Sequoia tree. I was intrigued and had to learn more of this magnificent creation by God. As I researched the Giant Sequoia, I was awed by how this amazing wonder related to our faith, lives and community. I would like to share a few of those observations with you today. I pray that these facts bless you as it blessed me in my discovery.
The Giant Sequoia can grow as tall as a 30 story building and the trunk as wide as most streets. Giant Sequoias are also one of the most enduring living things on the planet with some living past 3,000 years. Like most trees, they grow as long as they live.
Giant Sequoias are sun worshipers and absorb vast amounts of water. You will find them concentrated near streams and rivers of water.
Sequoias are extremely fruitful producing approximately 2,000 cones each year with an average of 200 seeds per cone. 400,000 seeds could be released per tree per year.
They are resistant to many things, even fire. In fact, forest fires pop open the sequoia cones, distributing their seeds on the forest floor in the mineral-rich soil, fertilized by the ashes.
They are fire-resistant, but not fireproof. The thicker bark will not hold a flame, but the bark can be seared through when accumulations of fuel beneath the tree burn for a long time. Deep and long fire scars can be seen on many Giant Sequoia trunks.
Sequoias heal. They have an amazing ability to heal from fire damage. New wood grows continually from either side of a fire scar, covering a little more each year until the injury is healed over. Cross-sections of logged Sequoias show where in many cases the fire scars have completely healed after being damaged.
Perhaps the most amazing fact is the Giant Sequoias can grow in just 3 feet (1 meter) of soil and still withstand high winds. The Sequoia’s strength comes from their roots being intertwined with other Sequoias.
Sequoias help each other and don’t compete for resources. Instead their huge root systems bind together and they share their resources.
So by this intertwining of their roots, the Sequoias help each other by providing mutual strength and shared resources.
God’s plan for us is like that. With the love and support we receive from God and others, we have the ability to stand tall even in the buffeting winds of life. Hebrews 13:16 says we are to “do good and to share with others.” Consider how tough it would be to withstand adversity if someone were not sharing the roots of their strength with us.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Joe Stowell, Writer for Our Daily Bread, said “There is great power in the entwining gifts of words of encouragement, prayers of intercession, weeping together, holding each other, and sometimes just sitting with one another sharing the presence of our love. Let the roots of God’s love in your life be entwined with others who need your support.” Amen.
Love in Christ,
Kelly
We love you all, Dewey, Sharon, Family and FGGAM Team
PLEASE VISIT THESE STORIES AT FGGAM.ORG, PLEASE SHARE WITH THE WORLD! AMEN! As you can see from below we have writers from all over America! PRAISE GOD!!!!
