GROW IN THE TOUGH TIMES
Below you will find one of my favorite poems on growth. Whether it's a tree, a child or an adult, we had all better be growing. I like to read this poem whenever I am wondering what all the pain and difficulties are about in my life or the life of someone I know.
Grow Tall By Douglas Malloch The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing. The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began. Good timber does not grow with ease:
The stronger wind, the stronger trees;
The further sky, the greater length;
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow. Where thickest lies the forest growth,
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life. Let us never forget that difficult times do serve a purpose. Perhaps nothing good can ever really come unless there are some trying times and circumstances to go through. We may not be able to see the purpose while going through those trials and tough times, but once on the other side, if we have stayed the course and kept the right attitude, we will be able to see the growth that has taken place in us.