From 1991 to 1993, the University of Arizona created a closed artificial ecosystem called Biosphere 2. The experiment was created within a 3.14 acre sealed glass enclosure, aiming to be a self-sustaining life.
Whilst one of the project’s findings was that trees within the ecosystem grew taller and faster, overall, the project was a failure. What they did not know was that trees needed wind.
Wind places stress on the roots by tugging at them on one side and compressing them on the other. Root systems, therefore, expand, and the compressed cell structures become stronger.
Just like trees need wind to grow, mature and become strong, so too do our students. Hard things are the very experiences and events that allow them to grow, mature and become strong.
Romans 5: 3-4 says “because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
Rather than removing the wind from the growing trees, lets be the water that encourages and nurtures growth through the storms! The wind is the very thing that produces perseverance and character with them.
As your children work through assessment seasons, friendship issues, and tricky relationships, lets prayerfully walk alongside and encourage them through it.
Rachel Baker
