Appreciating an oak – tall, wide and strong looking – one has to wonder how it stands. Generally the trunk is narrow in comparison to the boughs. The tree in my mind, you will have one too, has one particular branch reaching horizontally 5 times the width of the trunk. Roots. Roots are the answer and for an oak there is a particular root that catches my imagination– the taproot which drives vertically deep below the tree.
It is highly unlikely, but not impossible, to see the tap root of a living oak. It will travel seeking out water and transporting it to the heart of the tree. Gardeners tell me not to water the leaves of a plant but focus on the base where the roots can find it. In our garden we have an olive tree in a pot which has a tube for pouring water to the heart of the base.
There is a wonderful verse in the Christian book of wisdom found in Jeremiah 17:7-8 which says: “…blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
Of course, life has its complications, droughts and fears. We have fruitless periods come upon us. But I wonder if the trick here is to think in spiritual less physical terms. The verse is a metaphor in part for an inner life. The idea of the verse and the taproot I described is of having a part of our being that’s driving deep to find resources for life. Have you ever looked at a person journeying through pain or prolonged unfair treatment and said ‘I don’t know how they keep going’. Jeremiah might be suggesting that whilst the heat is here today the roots drew water yesterday for today and tomorrow.
Rob Wykes 