At the root of it all

I’m an oak tree.

That’s what I keep thinking after reading a childhood friend’s Facebook status last week.

He had been working all day to remove an old oak tree from the ground with his truck.

“Just had an epiphany,” he wrote. “Sin is like an oak tree. It is easily removed when it first sprouts, however, if allowed to grow and take root, it takes a TON of work and sometimes a Big Red Truck to get it out.”

While I can certainly relate to and apply the analogy of sin in my own life, I just think of how true that statement is, and how far-reaching it can be.

It certainly applies to my weight.

Had I just buckled down and gotten things under control when I first started gaining weight 6.5 years ago – when it first “sprouted” – it would’ve been a heck of a lot easier to conquer.

Instead, I gained 140 pounds.

On Sunday, I had been cleaning our house for hours when I looked around and realized that it didn’t look like I had done a thing.

“My house is an oak tree,” I thought.

There are so many areas of our lives where oak trees can take root.

Maybe it’s even at work, or conflict in our personal relationships.

The point is, we have to tackle these things as they come. Don’t let them take root.

And for our most deep-rooted woes, there is still hope. Nothing is impossible.

Is it time to grab the ax?