Like Tumbleweeds



Montana fields by Dee Kamp

 

 



Like Tumbleweeds

T

he wind blew dust so thick from the prairie it obscured our vision of the highway. I watched the tumbleweeds rolling along and pile up against the fences. But some were being flipped up in the air by a gust of wind, rolling them out onto the highway, and one smacked hard against our motor home. It felt as if we were in a race to outdistance the tumbleweeds. The highway patrol warned everyone on the radio that tumbleweeds can be dangerous and even life-threatening.

I have seen tourists stop and pick up a tumble weed and toss it in the back of their car for decoration back at home. It’s the last thing a North Dakota farmer would think of doing. They once thought of fencing the entire state of North Dakota to stop tumbleweeds from causing injury, by its thorns, to their horses, and from its ability to carry a prairie fire across many acres of farmland.

The tumbleweed grows until its seeds are mature, then the stem breaks off allowing this perfect ball of a plant to be tossed by the winds and disperse its seeds for miles. Interestingly, science has shown that the plant is so well-created it does not lose all of its seeds on the first bounce, but is designed to let the seeds come loose one bounce at a time. This plant survives because it can bounce to survive in adversity.

 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come our way,

consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know

that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a

chance to grow. So let it grow for when your endurance

is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete,

needing nothing James 1:2-4 NLT.

The tumbleweed has a lot going for it. Endurance allows it to survive, grow, and disperse its seeds. To some, it is a just a nuisance. But now scientists at Utah State University have found that tumbleweeds improve the soil. A tumbleweed trickles chemicals into the soil and this improves the nutrients in the ground, so other plants grow better the next season.

Just like the tumbleweed, we are each designed that in our tumbling we will have the bounce to survive. We are each designed with a great purpose by our Creator. With faith, we are able to disperse seeds of hope, faith, and love. When we roll into the lives of others who live with tired soil in their souls, we are able to nurture them in God’s Word, leaving a place where Christ will grow.

“Thou has made us for Thyself,

And the heart of man is restless

Until it finds its rest in Thee.”

—St. Augustine

 

By Dee Kamp, from: “Strength for Today, Hope For Tomorrow”