Winter Growth

Lady Dr. Kim (Shin Wook Kim)
April 1982

We know as winter approaches the wind blows very strongly and leaves drop off the trees. At times the limbs blow down or break. When again in the spring the wind blows, those trees, silent and completely bare in winter with no leaves, start to be gently rocked again. What kind of meaning does this have? In summer, the trees put forth their leaves in the top part of the tree, the part that grows most Yet in the wintertime, the part that is growing is not seen. The roots grow during the wintertime, so when the trees shake in the wind as winter approaches, the sap which flowed freely all summer long begins to descend into the roots.

I look outside now and see that the spring winds are already starting to blow. The spring wind is not so strong, but still it blows the tree back and forth, and I can understand that the sap is being drawn back up again to prepare for the coming leaves. When I look at the natural world and see the trees like this, I can understand that through each season there are different ways in which the tree is trying to grow. As we look at the weather, we can see the kind of air that exists before the rain -- warm air and cold air colliding and making wind.

In our lives of faith there are times when we are blown by very strong winds and others when warm winds waft through us; different parts of us grow at different times. Therefore, we know that no matter how much of a struggle, how much of a wind is beating against us, if we just somehow endure and grow through that time of suffering, our hearts become much deeper. Then somehow we can survive.

All through our lives, we go through times of deep struggles and deep sacrifice, in order that our roots may grow.