Three wooden crosses (above) used in the production of a Passion play at Lake Palestine United Methodist Church stand on a hill overlooking the church’s amphtheatre (below) on Lake Palestine near Chandler. Many places in the world have to deal with the occasional windstorm.

When the weather conditions come together to produce bursts of wind at extremely high speeds, a frequent outcome is the destruction of majestic trees.

Tree damage is always found in terms of broken limbs, and sometimes in broken trunks.

But what has amazed me for many years is how some trees just simply lay right over onto the ground, with a root ball raised out of the earth.

And what is most amazing is that the roots are not that deep into the ground and not all that wide! How can so mighty a tree be taken down so “easily?”

The answer, of course, takes no rocket scientist to figure it out. When the water is provided in small doses and spread all over under the canopy of the tree, the roots will grow toward where it finds its source of water.

Paul Bryant Photos Thus, a tree can be trained to be “shallow-rooted.”

I learned from some of the illustrations out in the world that there are trees in the desert parts of Australia that take on the winds any day of the week, and rarely, if ever, are they blown down.

Lose a few limbs, yes. Have a broken trunk, sometimes. But get blown over? Never. Their roots go searching for water, and it is not to be found on the surface of the ground, so they must search deep and wide.

And there are tales about how to plant trees and help them grow tall and strong. Don’t stake them down too tightly. Let them sway with the winds and learn how to anchor themselves solidly in the ground.

As the outer portions of the trunk age and stiffen, it takes deep roots to hold it in place.

Now, trees of which I have heard many great stories are the mighty redwood trees in Northern California.

Their leafy arms reach toward heaven and they cover many square feet of ground, as well as being very tall. With an abundant surfacewater supply the roots need not search deep, and so they stay relatively shallow.

But you do not see these falling down on the job. Their roots intertwine with their neighbor, and when the winds howl and the storms rage, they hang onto each other and hold each other up.

Without saying a word, these trees teach us lessons worthy of consideration. This is especially true in our lives in the Christian faith. Our roots must be sent deep into the Word, into the experience of the Holy Spirit.

If we seldom study the Word or rarely attend worship services, our faith will become so shallow we become easy targets for the storms of life.

And we all know they are out there, prowling like a young, hungry lion.

When we share experiences with our faith family or neighbors who love the Lord just as much as we do, we gain the benefit of more shoulders upon which to lean when the storms hit and our limbs are broken.

But the deeper and more intertwined our roots are with each other and with Jesus our Lord, the less the challenges of the world affect the core of our being.

And the more the tourists of the world will marvel at the beauty of the forests of our lives and wonder how so many can withstand so much for so long.

It is my prayer that your life is rooted deeply in faith.

If not, look around. The forest is filled with brothers and sisters to share their lives and their roots with you.

Come and plant yourself in one of our forests!

The Rev. Richard Prather is pastor of Lake Palestine United Methodist Church.