A couple of years ago I was frustrated by a small tree that was leaning out over part of our yard. Some of its branches were nearly touching the ground. Besides being an eyesore, it made walking on and mowing that part of the yard unpleasant and difficult. The simplest thing would have been to take it down. But I like trees, so cutting them down is a last resort.

I decided to winch this leaning tree back up with a large ratchet strap secured to a strong adjacent tree. It took quite a bit of force to pull the tree up. The strap was under considerable tension. But it did the job.

Fast-forward to the other day, when I noticed the strap had come loose. But to my surprise the tree wasn’t leaning. It had been “trained” to hold itself upright! I was quite pleased with the tree and glad I hadn’t taken it down. (Did you know tree-training is a thing? As you can see from the pictures above, trees can be trained in some amazing ways.)

As I reflected on my trained-to-no-longer-lean tree, this Scripture came to mind: to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness (Heb 12:11).

You might be wondering what the “it” in that verse refers to. “It” is the training mechanism of discipline. Ugh. Not exactly our favorite word. But if we pause long enough to consider the beneficial outcome of discipline, we concur that it is, in fact, well worth it.

Is there a ratchet strap exerting considerable strain and discomfort on some aspect of your life? Would you rather just be left alone to lean? But what if someOne is doing this so you won’t have to be cut down? What if He’s doing this because His plan is for you to become a beautiful, fruitful tree?

Then why not cooperate? Cease resisting. Choose to be “trained by it” for the peaceful fruit of righteousness. That’s what will really make your tree look good!