And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.

Mark 4:17

Spring has arrived, life has returned, and things that have been dormant for a season begin to flourish. Dogwoods bud, Bradford pears blossom, grass begins to green, and flowers bloom. The landscape flows with beauty with the fingerprint of design from the Master’s hand.

It is during this time of year majestic oaks, maples, and hickory trees give way to the elements around them, and we awake to find them uprooted, displaced, and destroyed. Often, I have heard discussions during the aftermath and cleanup of the fallen tree about why it fell.

Life is repetitive. It is during the time of rebirth, reinvention, growth and blossoming those storms always come; and every year the discussion is the same, detailing how the mighty have fallen, the business collapsed, pastor resigned, saint stumbled, marriage failed, or friend forsook us.

Like the mighty oak, hickory, and maple, it really wasn’t that life, or the process had changed. At growth time the storms always appear, and the determining factor is our roots. Time after time I have heard comments about the fallen trees discussing how massive the roots system is when it becomes exposed.

Roots are only as strong as they are deep. It matters not how big the circumference of the root system is. If it is not deep, it has no power against the storm. To answer the question of why the mighty have fallen, this storm was no different from the many before. It was the fact the tree became too tall and top heavy for the depth of the root system to hold. Then, when the dirt around it is softened by the rain, and the wind begins to blow, the roots are too shallow to hold the tree. So, the marriage, person, business or position crumbles. Not because our network was too small, instead, it was not deep enough to hold us.