Day 244 Scars and Roots

"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved."

--Helen Keller

Like most people, I feel like I have had my share of trials in my life. For a while this past year, I thought all of those challenges had broken me down. I kept searching for some inspiration or metaphor that could lift me up and make me feel like I was still strong and could persevere even though I felt beaten down.

I can’t help it—I like a little inspiration now and then. Well, I found it when I started to look around me at all the great, tall, beautiful trees that weathered so many storms. I thought about how they have scars, burns, and broken branches on the outside, but they also have deep, strong roots that would take a whole lot more than a storm to dig up. Those roots keep the trees living and growing.

Sometimes I think it’s easy to forget about all the roots of strength we each have underneath the surface when we focus on the hits we have taken in life. I am trying to give myself more credit now, and think of myself like one of those trees…Some scars and broken branches, but a whole lot of deep-seated roots to keep me grounded, nurtured, and thriving.