Today was a beautiful overcast Monday. The sky canvas was full of grey clouds, silver rain showers, and heavy wind bursts. The faithful cardinals perched on all the bird feeders while the rain poured down. I think they enjoy being the only bird species on the bird feeders on a rainy day. I enjoyed the yard symphony full of the bamboo branches’ music and the loud tintinnabulations of the porch wind chimes. Occasionally a little oak branch would fall on the tin roof next door and add a little percussion to the yard symphony as it rolled down the roof.

I spent lots of time today looking out the windows watching the bamboo dance with the flow of the wind. They adjust to the weather so well, they bend and twist and slap the ground, shaking their long leafy branches, heavy with rain, but once the sun comes out they perk up and stand tall. If we could only be as easy going with unexpected life changes as the bamboo.

Found a quote while I was pondering on the bamboo forest. “Be like a tree. Stay grounded. Connect to your roots. Turn over a new leaf. Bend before you break. Enjoy your unique natural beauty. Keep growing,” Joanne Raptis. Been sitting here thinking of these words and what wonderful advice for all of us, both young and old. Those words would be a great mural for the walls of schools and colleges or a great addition to the curriculum.

“Be like a tree.” I think that means stand tall and straight and strong, our arms reaching up to heaven with thankfulness, learning to let go of our wants, concentrating on our families’ needs, understanding life will always change and we’ll change as we mature. Life is successive change and we need to learn to embrace change. The trees lose their leaves and when spring comes, they’re clothed in new greenery. God can give us peace when our leaves are falling around us. Reach out to God and let him help you grow in faithfulness.

We all need to “stay grounded,” specially in our faith. If you’re grounded you can control your emotions and stay calm when life goes awry. Our prayers help us grow and thrive. When we put ourselves in God’s hands, God will keep us grounded with our faith.

Our family and friends help us “connect to our roots.” Our relationships with our family and friends help us live and learn and stay on our path of faith. Sharing our lives entwines our roots. We define our identity by staying close to our ancestors and our family traditions. I think our relationships with our extended family help our children and our grandchildren have a sense of security knowing they have family they can count on in times of joy and times of sorrow. We need to be sure our children connect to their family roots and connect to their faith in God. Our children are blessings from God and we should treat them as such.

It’s never too late to “turn over a new leaf.” At any age we can grab a leaf off the tree of life and branch out in a different direction. We’re never too old for acquiring new skills and it’s never too late to change for the better. Every day is a new beginning. Don’t wake up and realize life has passed you by. Grab all the leaves you can and let God help you grow a new branch in your life. Faith and prayers and God’s love assures us we can turn over that new leaf.

We are all created in God’s image. Every one of us are beautiful and “unique in our natural beauty.” We are all children of God in all our colors and in all our shapes. Embrace the traits that make you unique. Learn to see the beauty in the broken — the naked branches of the old oak trees reaching for the sunset, their black limbed silhouettes highlighted against the beauty of the fading twilight.

I love the words “bend but don’t break.” Good advice for all the teenagers and the adults who result to violence, who have never learned how to bend and agree to disagree. I watch the bamboo bend and sway. Their stalks don’t break, bending down low with the weight of the rain. The bamboo just wait for the sun to rise and help them straighten up with her warmth. The Lord promises the sun will rise each day. So don’t break, just kneel on your knees and pray for God’s grace to help you stand. If your worries are making you bend with their weight, pray and put those worries in God’s hands and stand back up in peace. God will always carry our burdens with grace.

And “keep growing.” We grow throughout our entire lives. All we experience in our lives teaches us and molds us, defining who we are. We all have dreams and aspirations. Be brave and keep reaching for the stars and pursuing your dreams. Anything is possible if you have faith in yourself and faith in God’s plan for your life. Let God be your Master Gardener. Put yourself in his hands and you’ll thrive with his light and his love. Keep growing in your faith and be rooted in God. “Let your roots grow down into him and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness,” Colossians 2:7.

“Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.” — Bruce Lee