By Joshua Webb
In the early 1900s, the American government made a deal to purchase large plots of timber along the Amazon river from the Brazilians (Before you start, this isn’t a push or rant for or against deforestation).
Crews, equipment and large barges were all sent to begin the work. Then it began. Hundreds and thousands of acres of rain forest harvested in the name of progress. For almost ten years, this would continue. We paid big bucks for that timber and believe me, Brazil was happy to reap the dividend.
Suddenly things changed here in America. The Great Depression, as we call it now would begin. The need for mass quantities of timber had come to a sudden halt. Prosperity would be replaced with panic.
Some decade or so later, we would be booming again. Sadly, mostly fueled by war. However, the need to fulfill our deal with our friends down south was suddenly upon us. We needed lumber, and we needed it fast.
So once again crews were gathered, equipment was loaded, and off they went to harvest more trees. Only, what they returned to wasn’t a vast stand of towering forest. It was thousands of acres of dead trees. Worthless. No good as they lay rotting on the ground.
This wasn’t the work of lumberjack powered saws. It was the aftermath of storms. What would be figured out years later, is that the trees left had no strength. They had been sheltered by the outer layer we the people had harvested years earlier. Those were the strong trees. The ones that had grown while being battered and beaten by the wind and the rain. Those that grew without resistance had fallen when the storms returned.
We are like those trees. We are strong when we’ve grown through storms, yet weak when we never suffer adversity.
There will be storms. Wind. Rain. Lightning. Thunder. Hail. Absolute tumultuous conditions which seem endless and impossible to find escape. We need such events and resistance in order to gain strength.
Allow yourself to face resistance, challenges and fears. Let the wind blow, the rain to fall, and the lightning fill your skies and light your path.
All of this is part of your story. A story worth telling. Tell your story. It’s a story of strength and what you’ve overcome. More so, it’s a reminder of what you’re capable of. Once you’ve survived a storm, a cloudy day suddenly becomes a walk in the park.
To tell your story here, reach out to me via email at you.matter.ms@gmail.com or through my Instagram @you_matter_ms. We look forward to hearing your story.
