Sunday morning, as I gazed out the church window, I noticed an outcropping of large trees across the road. (No, I was not bored; the sermon was actually quite interesting.) I had seen those same trees many times before; yet my eyes were drawn to the top of the tallest tree, the point where it met the waiting, clear blue sky. At the very top of this tree I noticed that I could make out individual leaves blowing in the cool autumn breeze. Then it struck me, there, way at the top, was one solo leaf, higher than all the rest. Of all the thousands of leaves on that tree, why was that one lone leaf singled out to be the highest? At that moment a thought occurred to me, “does that leaf have the right to be proud of being the highest on the tree?”
Trees are complicated organisms. That single solitary leaf is connected by a tiny stem to a larger branch. That branch is connected to a bigger limb. The limb is connected to the main trunk of the tree. The trunk is connected to the tap roots. The tap roots are connected to the feeder roots. The feeder roots are embedded in the soil. The soil is sitting on the sub-soil. The sub-soil is sitting on bedrock. The bedrock is resting on the earths’ mantle. The mantle is floating on liquid rock.
With that elaborate support structure, could that leaf rightfully be proud of being the highest? Of course not, it was there only because of the huge support structure that took it to that height. In fact, there was another leaf that could have been thrust upward at any moment, fetching the coveted highest position. To be honest with itself, and the whole world, that one leaf should consider itself blessed to be pushed into that high position by all the other parts of the tree.
How many of us have taken full credit for something that we really did not accomplish on our own? How many of us could have given more applause to the teams of people who pushed us up the tree, allowing us to alight on our lofty perch? How many of us have been plucked off that tiny twig by a passing wind or an errant bird only then to realize how we had gotten there to begin with? Did we complain about our circumstance or did we realize that we enjoyed our time at the top only through the blessings of a grand structure that supported our growth?
Before we take credit for our lone success, give deep thought to all those who helped us attain that success. Give proper credit for those who supported us and yet freely take credit for whatever part we played in the venture.
Remember this also; in the autumn, all of the leaves on a tree fall to the ground and are recycled into new leaves next spring. We are not alone at the top or on the bottom. We are community! We are blessed! We are all in this together!
What part of the tree are you?
