Stress. It’s a crazy thing.
Last week my hometown flooded in a matter of minutes. When I was home over the weekend, I was shocked to see the damage first hand. Sure, I had seen the pictures on line and in the news, but to see something first hand is different. They said the creek that runs through the center of town rose 5-6 feet in less than 30 minutes. That’s crazy!
I couldn’t help but notice the damage in our small park, one of the central parts of our small town, and located right next to the creek. I saw picnic benches overturned, soccer goals hung up on trees at the opposite end of the park, among many other things. Even a culvert pipe was hung up on the new bridge, and no one seems to know where the pipe came from! What struck me the most was that the majority of damage seemed to be to “man-made” objects, to the things that we placed in the park to make it more functional and enjoyable. Throughout all of the damage, I only noticed one tree that was pulled out of the ground.
And it got me thinking…
We are natural beings, if you will. We add unnatural things all of the time… clothes, makeup, cars, accessories, etc. The stresses of life constantly change the “unnatural” things in our life. For example, one morning on the way to work you’re exhausted and not paying enough attention, you end up totaling your car. It’s easily replaceable and the scratch on your head heals. A couple of months later, you’re still not sleeping well and fall asleep on the drive home from a long conference. Your car is not only totaled, but this time you’ve got some more serious injuries and spend some time in the hospital.
I know that this is an extreme example, but I hope you’re seeing where I’m going. Stress wears on you, just as it wore on that tree in the park that was uprooted. It is crucial to take care of yourself and of your stress before it takes care of you.
Our quaint, little park was closed last week, and I couldn’t get a good picture of anything (stupid crutches…), but I did go out to the creek behind my house and take a few pictures that hopefully illustrate my point. Take care of yourself.
A big thank you goes out to my little sister for taking me out on our four-wheeler and helping me to take pictures.
You can tell on this side of the tree that it is strongly rooted in to the ground. It stands strong and tall.
On this side of the tree you can see that the water (stress) has eroded away at the roots. It still stands strong and mighty, but not nearly as strong as before all the stress exposed the roots.
