Crooked

In my backyard there is a tree that grows in a crooked direction. When I say crooked I don't mean that it's slightly off but instead I mean that it grows at almost a 45 degree angle to the ground. I've wondered since I first moved in what happened to this tree to cause it to abandon the normal way of growing and aim for something that's so out of the ordinary. Perhaps it was a huge storm that sent it sideways or maybe the original owners hit it with the lawn mower and never stopped to plant a stake in the ground to encourage it to grow upright. Honestly, I doubt that I'll ever know what happened to this little tree but that's not really what this story is about!Ever since I noticed the tree I've known that it doesn't conform to perfect tree standards and as I've thought about taming the wilds of my backyard I've found myself wondering if I shouldn't just cut this poor sideways tree down and start over with something brand new and more standard. So I've watched it through the winter and debated what should happen come spring. To be honest, I was really close to just doing away with it and starting over. However, spring has a funny way of making all things new! The other day I walked outside and noticed that something different was happening with this sideways tree. What had just been a bunch of branches, bare through the winter, were beginning to break out in blooms of color! On each limb were tiny blossoms of pink and white bursting forth! This tree had become an absolutely charming addition to my yard now that spring had arrived and brought life back to its limbs!
Now for the lesson:
I walked over to observe more closely and as I walked away I thought to myself, "That tree may be crooked, but it sure is beautiful." Immediately I thought that this is how the Lord looks at all of us. We may not be perfect, we may not conform to what the world expects, but when He brings us to life, we are beautiful in His eyes too! We're all crooked in various ways but just like my little sideways tree, God looks at us and says that we are beautiful to Him and we should live and grow in that knowledge every day. God doesn't make all of us to grow in the perfect, normal manner the world might like but instead allows us to have our kinks that make us unique and endearing - just as the tree!

What a treat God had for me from a little tree I was tempted to get rid of. Now, as for the fate of the little sideways tree in my backyard, I will let it continue to grow and blossom and live not because it's the perfect tree but because it is perfect as it is and it reminds me of the Lord every time I look upon it.