Remember the Willow

When I was a little girl, we had a weeping willow tree in our backyard. I was mesmerized by the fairy tale-like quality of the tree. I would take a book and read under the cascading branches, or I would imagine that I was a princess sitting beneath its shade.  When I sat underneath that tree, I felt closed off and protected from the world that was around me.

My fascination for the willow tree never faded, and I began to study the characteristics of the tree.  In my studies, I realized that this tree isn’t just beautiful, it tells a story.  

Have you ever looked at a weeping willow tree and thought that it looked delicate, tired and worn, or even weak?  A droopy weeping willow tree can look as if it has been weighed down by the world.  Don’t let it fool you, though.   A weeping willow tree is anything but weak, its strength lies beneath the surface.

Did you know?

The willow is a symbol of resilience, flexibility, and adaptability.

Often, the branches of a willow tree can bend without breaking. And if a limb of a willow tree does get broken, that limb can be replanted,  grow new roots, and thrive. 

The roots of the willow tree are remarkable for their toughness, size, and tenacity to live. 

The roots weave a complex system beneath the surface of the soil.   They don’t just grow down, they grow outward, taking up space.  They search for water, and they break up hard surfaces that lie in their path, if they need to.  

The willow tree has been known for thousands of years as the healing tree.

Willow bark is used for healing purposes, and it reduces pain.  The willow bark inspired the creation of aspirin.  The tree also heals the land by holding soil together, preventing erosion, and stabilizing river banks.  This is why they are often planted by a water’s edge.

The limbs and roots of a willow are so strong that they need proper pruning so that it doesn’t damage itself. 

Without pruning, the limbs of the tree can rub against other limbs, causing damage, and hindering its growth.

As I consider these traits of the willow tree, I am reminded of those of us that continue to stand tall against adversity.  Although we may appear delicate on the surface, and we may seem we graceful and gentle as we carry ourselves day to day.  But behind all that, is a quiet strength that many people may never see.  We continue to bend under the weight of expectations, responsibilities, circumstances, the voices that tell us we are too much yet not enough.  The weight gets heavier everyday.   And no matter how heavy it gets, we continue to be a healing light in someone else’s life.  

Yet, we bend without breaking.  Why?  Because our roots are deep and grounded in the faith that God is helping us bear the weight.  As Jeremiah 17:7–8 (ESV) reminds us: "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

There still may be times when we snap, but in those times, our tenacity to keep going helps us choose to plant something new from the pain.   This is God’s way of pruning us so that we can continue to grow into the person He wants us to be, even though sometimes that pruning is painful.  The times when it is the hardest, are the times when God is trying to get us to let go, and allow Him to remove the things that are holding us back and hindering us from growth.

Are you bending under the weight of heaviness?

When life gets hard, may you remember the tenacity of the willow tree, and the deep roots that spread and break through anything in their path in order to get to THE source of life.