The work in the willow

We have three huge willow trees in our back yard.  They're weird trees.  In fact, they're a bit annoying.  Their branches hang down so low to the ground that when I mow the lawn it feels like I'm walking through a hippie's beaded doorway.  They grow new branches faster than I can grow hair (which I guess doesn't say much), and they lose just as many branches as they grow; so we are constantly raking them up and getting rid of them.  They are constant work - and yet, they are really beautiful.  Really.  The effort of their upkeep is worth it, because they are beautiful.

People are like that too.  Sometimes they are a pain, sometimes they are annoying, sometimes they need a lot of work - but they are worth it because they are beautiful.  We might not always see it, but their beauty is there even if it's hidden or has been temporarily lost.

That person who makes your life miserable; underneath everything - God has made them beautiful.

And you.  You are beautiful too. 

All of us need work, all of us need people who invest in us and help to bring our beauty out.  Let's be the kind of people who help invest in others as well.  Seriously, let's really do it. 


Romans 15: 1-2 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.