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Along the timberline of Mt. Shasta in northern California, there lives an unusual tree called the Shasta Fir.
In its early life it appears twisted and almost brush-like.
Winter storms may deposit more than 20 feet of snow atop tiny fir seedlings.
The young plants are so battered and pressed that they have to twist, turn, and struggle just to survive.
Eventually, after years, there comes a winter when the young tree is able to establish itself against the snowpack. In the words of author and pastor Earl Palmer, it begins to point skyward like an arrow.
Once this victory is won against and through the snow, the vertical straightness of the Shasta Fir is unmatched by any other alpine tree. What amazes hikers in the summer months is the sight of the lower parts of these trees – so often twisted and gnarled and oddly shaped.
For a time, the sheer force of circumstances may seem to defeat the Shasta Fir.
But when the time is right it stands tall like no other tree.
The apostle Paul says this in I Corinthians 15:58:
“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
This may be a wrenching and twisting season of your life.
Circumstances will change.
God will not.
Stand firm.