JourneyOnline
By Vanessa Griffiths, Fundraising Support Manager
I recently read an incredible book called “The Hidden Life of Trees” by Peter Wohlleben. If you walk in a forest, you may get the impression that trees are passive and silent but quite the opposite is true. Trees are interconnected with definite family structures like we have. They communicate with one another through their root system and support those trees in times of need by diverting nutrients to them. Trees also feel pain and loss. After reading this book I cry when I see a tree being cut down.
This book made me reflect on the culture I grew up in compared to the First World culture I now live in. I grew up in Zimbabwe where most people lived a subsistence life in small villages surrounded by family. I loved the Zimbabwean culture and connection to land. I moved to live overseas when I was in my early 20s and went from an African landscape to a First World culture where everything was fast paced and all about how many ‘things’ you had. This was quite a confronting change but what I recognised in the midst of both cultures was still the deep-seated need to be connected. We cannot operate in isolation and if we do, it will be of detriment to us.
My role as Fundraising Support Manager has allowed me the privilege of connecting to congregations and Presbyteries across Queensland. These connections have enriched my life in so many ways. Congregations have shared their struggles and their celebrations with me, and we have shared God’s vision for our lives and the life of the church.
When I think of a large, beautiful oak tree with a complex roots system, I think of God. He stands before us asking us to be part of the interconnected Godly root system.
“For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 3:11 NKJV
Today I remind myself that God is my foundation and that I do not stand alone. My prayer is that as a culture we recognise the inherent value and connection in one another.
