Consider Two Acorns
IllustrationAnalogyObject Lesson★★★★Consider two acorns from the same tree, as nearly alike as possible; plant one on a hill by itself, and the other in the dense forest, and watch them grow. The oak standing alone is exposed to every storm. Its roots reach out in every direction, clutching the rocks and piercing deep into the earth. Every rootlet lends itself to steady the growing giant, as if in anticipation of fierce conflict with the elements.
Sometimes its upward growth seems in check for years, but all the while it has been expending its energy in pushing a root across a large rock to gain a firmer anchorage. Then it shoots proudly aloft again, prepared to defy the hurricane.
The gales that sport so rudely with its wide branches find more than their match and only serve still further to toughen every fiber from pitch to bark. The acorn planted in the deep forest shoots up a weak, tender sapling. Shielded and smothered by its neighbors, it feels no need to spread its roots far and wide for support.
The point
An oak exposed to storms develops deep roots and strength; one sheltered in forest grows weak—showing how adversity builds spiritual character while ease creates vulnerability.