Storm and Palm trees

After Hurricane Ike roared through Houston, we lost many huge oak trees, some of them four or five feet around. Those trees, which had looked as sturdy as can be, were no match for the 100-mile-an-hour winds.

I saw pine trees 140 feet tall knocked down in yard after yard. Big trees, small trees, pines, oaks, elms, magnolias were brought down. None of them could withstand those hurricane-force winds.

There was just one type of tree that seemed to fare better than most others in this powerful storm—the skinny, flimsy palm tree. Do you know why palms held up so well?

God designed the palm tree to bend but not break in high winds. The palm tree can bend all the way over until its top touches the ground and still not break. Palms may be bent over for four or five hours during a strong hurricane. You'd think they would snap right off, as thin as they are, but palms are resilient. They bounce right back.

I can imagine Hurricane Ike huffing and puffing and thinking, "I may not be able to uproot you, but at least I will keep you from ever standing up again." That hurricane just kept blowing. Old Ike thought he'd blown those palms off their roots. But when the hurricane ran out of steam, when Ike's winds died down, the palms bounced back!

After the storm, the palms around Houston just rose up, fanned out their fronds, took a deep breath, and said, "Well, that was a nice breeze. Hey, where'd all the oaks and magnolias go?"

Why is that? God put bounce-back in the palm tree. It may get bent over by the forces of nature, but it is only a matter of time before the palm stands tall once again.

Palm trees don't sweat storms. They weather them.

During Hurricane Ike, our palm trees were not worried.

They weren't depressed or thinking, Oh, no. Another hurricane. This will be the one. I'm sure it will tear me up by the roots.

Our palms were at peace. Our other trees were going down left and right, but the palm takes pride in its resilience. Palms know Almighty God put bounce back in their bark.

I learned something even more amazing about palms.

Biologists say that during a hurricane when the palm tree is being bent and pushed over, its root system is actually strengthened by the stress, which gives it new opportunities for growth.

When the storm is over, the palm tree smiles and says, "I knew this would be a bad one. I knew I would be battered. But what do you know? I came back up stronger than I was before. Now, if you will excuse me, I think I'll grow a little taller."

Bend with hard times and then grow.