In 1998 we moved from California to Atlanta, and a new friend asked, “What do you miss about California?”

Of course, the main things were family and friends, but then it hit me. “The Redwood Forest. It’s beautiful and Majestic, and I learned life-lessons from those giant trees.”

California Redwoods grow in circles and root-wrap for strength

When you drive into the National Park and get out of your car, you enter a new world—an eerily quiet one. Your eyes scan the height of the magnificent trees, some 300 feet tall only allowing a trickle of light to peer through. The fringed tops seem to touch the sky, and you almost topple backwards.

But the strength of each gigantic tree is not in itself. Redwoods are held up by the strength of the “families” which grow in a circle. For every foot in height these nature’s skyscrapers grow, the tree sends its roots three feet horizontally—only six feet underground.

The roots grow toward each other, intertwine, and root-wrap. When severe storms blow in from the Pacific Ocean, the trees sway and bend, but they don’t break.

We humans do the same. We root-wrap with others. When storms blow into our lives, we sway and bend, but we don’t break. Ask the Lord to show you who needs root-wrapping.

Who has root-wrapped with you during a storm in your life? Send them a note of thanks.

The greatest root-wrapping occurs when we place our hand in the hand of Jesus. He will never let to.

Lynda Young

Hope for Families of Children on the Autistic Spectrum

Lynda T. Young is co-founder of Kindred Spirits International (KSI) whose outreaches include children’s hospitals and Amani ya Juu refugee women’s mission in Africa. She is a speaker and author of the You Are Not Alone book series which includes Hope for Families of Children with Cancer, Hope for Families of Children with Congenital Heart Disease, and Hope for Families of Children on the Autistic Spectrum. She earned a Masters of Religious Education (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) and Masters of Education (UNC Chapel Hill, NC.). She’s a member of Christian Authors Network, Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, CLASS, SPEAK UP, and American Association of Christian Counselors. A speaker for Stonecroft Ministries, she lives in a suburb of Atlanta, GA, with her husband, Dr. John Young. kindredspiritsintl@yahoo.com.