What are you planting?

My wife and I spent most of a beautiful Saturday last month pruning the branches back on some pin oak trees. They line our driveway and the branches had grown out so much, that they scratched the side of a vehicle coming up the drive.

So I had my chainsaw and ladder, my wife to hold the ladder and tell me which branches to cut, and a beautiful day. It was great!

Well, we took a little break, and I stood back to look at our progress. I wondered, “Why were these pin oaks planted so close to the driveway?” Then I thought about it—the trees were planted probably fifteen to twenty years ago. At the time, they were tiny saplings that couldn’t even stand. Who would have imagined that they’d grow so big?

Then I thought about the things we plant in our lives. When we plant the saplings of a certain habit or attitude, we rarely consider how big they’ll grow in our lives over the years. So today, think about what you’re planting, and how big it’ll grow, as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living.