My family tree is not beautiful. It’s not like the Redwoods that have roots that run deep and are as old as the earth itself. It isn’t known for its majesty or beauty. People don’t travel for miles to see it. It doesn’t have strong branches where birds can rest. It isn’t teeming with life.

My legacy is wrought with alcoholism, abuse, witchcraft, and who knows what else. My family tree is twisted and gnarled. It’s been charred and damaged. The strong winds have pulled it up. The roots are exposed. The branches are bare; It’s not beautiful to look at. 

I don’t come from a family legacy of Christians. There aren’t generations of believers who came before me that committed their entire lives to Christ. They were broken people who didn’t know God. But in the scars of the tree, there was redemption. Somewhere, among the roots of my family tree, a seed was planted. In the midst of death, a new tree began to grow.

My family is not a picture perfect family. I can’t look back and see God interwoven through the roots of our tree. But you know what? That’s okay. It may not be beautiful or majestic like the Redwoods, but God is restoring it. He’s healing it from the roots and making something new.

There is something beautiful about a family tree that has Christ as a part of every branch and root. But there is also something beautiful about a tree that He has redeemed and made beautiful in spite of the twisted roots and broken branches. A tree that has new growth.

I don’t know why God called me. I don’t understand why He chose a gnarled tree over a Redwood. But… I see a new tree beginning to grow. Right in the middle of the old one. Maybe soon, there will be a Redwood growing among the exposed roots.