Jack Pinecones

(I wish we had a secret code so that we could communicate this one in secret.  Because, your mom and dad might read this. And even worse, my mom and dad might read this) Here’s why I wish we could share in code:  because I remember, when I was your age, getting into trouble. Alot. The details aren’t important but maybe you can relate?  I would do something wrong and then get sent to my room.  I’d storm and stomp there to make sure my mom and dad knew I. WAS. REALLY. MAD.  I’d deny everything. (even the stuff I actually did.)  I’d lie to make myself look innocent.  

Once my tantrum was over and I’d finally made it to my room, I’d sit and think.  And stew. And tell myself why I was right and they were wrong and how I was going to prove that I was right.  “I might have hit my sister but she is the one who told me my Barbie looked funny.”  Does that sound familiar at all? Usually I would be mad for a while, but the longer I sat up in my room, the more I’d begin to see that maybe, just maybe, I’d had a part in the fight.  Eventually, I would often recognize that I was wrong.  My parents were (gulp) more right than I wanted to admit.  

For some reason, this reminds me of Jack Pine Cones.  Maybe you’ve heard of them? They are similar to regular pine cones that you might find on the trees or ground near pine trees--they grow for a few seasons, then fall and dry up.  While most pine cones dry up with the cold weather and drop seeds for the next spring, Jack Pine Cones are unique. They don’t break open easily. In fact, they can lie on the ground dormant for years, waiting for the perfect opportunity to open up and release their seeds.  And do you know what does that? Fire. Isn’t that amazing? Wildfires are what usually create enough heat for those pine cones to dry out, pop open, and for their seeds to settle into the ground, ready to grow a new tree. Normally, we think of wildfires as being a BAD thing.  They burn acres and acres of good land, killing trees and wildlife as they sweep across the land.  

I like thinking about the Jack Pine, though, because something new and beautiful comes from something we usually think of as bad.  Now that I’m an adult, those memories of me getting in trouble and getting sent to my room are kind of like that pinecone. Of course I’m not happy that I disobeyed and treated my siblings like I did.  But something beautiful would grow in me during those quiet hours spent in my room afterwards. Once I realized that I had done something wrong, there came the quiet and healing voice of God saying, “I still love you.  You are still my child.” And my mom and dad were always loving and forgiving when I would come back down. It was easier to be sorry and wrong, knowing that I was still loved.  

I love that God is so good and so sovereign that He can bring good things out of hard things.  Even when we experience “fires”--things that feel really sad or really hard--God is right there, growing something beautiful.  It might not show up right away. It may be hard to see for a while. But we know that He is with us and loves us perfectly. God’s Spirit is actually the one at work, preparing our hearts--just like that pine cone--to open and be ready for Him at just the right time!