I often find myself traveling from Canby to Oregon City on highway 99 E, winding my way along the river near Willamette Falls where steep canyon walls triumphantly rise on each side.
Lately, my eyes have been drawn to splashes of bright yellow poking out here and there on the crags above me. Lovely daffodils happily herald winter’s end while announcing brighter days are coming. Somehow, they cling to those walls sending their delicate roots into impossibly rocky places with apparently little or no soil. How do they do that, I wonder? Those stalwart pillars of basalt and shale are held in place by heavy steel netting but even so, give way to an occasional rockslide. I sometimes hold my breath passing through that section of the roadway. It is incredible to me that somehow the lovely little clusters of daffodils hold onto those perilous walls. Spring after spring they hold their ground and even multiply.
The daffodils I lovingly plant in my garden don’t do nearly as well. I weed, feed and water them with great care. Each spring I expectantly look for that first burst of color from their tall sturdy stems. However my soil is so rocky that they struggle to flourish, and their numbers seem to decline a little more each year. Why do they triumph on those rocky walls, but fail in my carefully tended garden?
Perhaps it has something to do with the hardships they endure on those canyon walls. The winds sweep through that canyon with great power. At times the rains fall relentlessly threatening to wash them away. There is no fertilizer to make them healthy. But all they have weathered has made them tenacious and strong. Those roots, tender as they are, continue to search for what can’t be seen on the surface.
So it is with our lives. The more that we dig deep searching for strength which comes only from God through His word, we too can flourish through the trials that threaten to uproot us. We can then attest to others what we have found to be true of our Father in heaven. Just like the daffodils on the craggy heights, we too can hold firm and weather any storm.
Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust him. Your roots will grow down into
God’s love and keep you strong. Ephesians 3:17 (NLT)