By Ada Brownell
Excerpt from IMAGINE THE FUTURE YOU
.99 thru April 28
Habits are like the tree in
Vashon Island, Washington, that grew around a bicycle until the bike became part of the tree.
Somebody obviously leaned the bike against the tree when it was a small
sapling. Now the bicycle is lodged into a large tree trunk five or six feet off
the ground. It is impossible to remove the bike without destroying the tree.
Dr. Alan Friedman, a botanist at Marquette University in
Milwaukee, says if an immovable object comes in contact with a growing tree,
the growth that creates wood and bark will eventually cover the object. The
only exception is a wire or rope put entirely around a tree, which will kill
it.[1]
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Habits entwine themselves into us in a similar way and become
part of who we are. Some habits make us better people because they cause us to
do good things. Bad habits wrapped into our character jeopardize our future.
Habits are one part of our lives we control, but we can’t
choose our parents. God made sure they love you by implanting love into their
beings, although some moms and dads don’t show their love. But even parents who
forsake their children love them, because many come back to them later in life
and ask for forgiveness.
Parents are stuck with their children, and their children
are stuck with them. Parents don’t have control over the genes their kids
inherit, either. By the same token, they had nothing to do with the kind of
atmosphere their ma and pa provided for them that influenced their behavior.
True genetics, culture,
temperament, talents, education, beliefs, quirks, and hang-ups of the people
who gave us earthly life affect us, but we can’t blame them if we end up a
drunkard, too lazy to support ourselves, or in prison. No matter who we are,
our background, what internal and external obstacles we face, through God's help we can scramble
over everything in our way and reach a life of joy and fulfillment.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).
You can purchase the book here
[1] Country Magazine Extra Collector’s Edition 5 (Harlan, IA, 1995).
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