Do you serve like a coffee bean or an oak tree?

We drink coffee at our house.  Each morning, my wife wakes earlier than me and I awake to the sound of grinding coffee beans.  The smell is wonderful.  The taste, even better.  A great way to start the day!

Interesting thing about coffee beans.  Once we grind them, they can never become a whole bean again.  The taste is delicious.  The smell is heavenly.  But once the cup of coffee is consumed, that's it.  Coffee's gone and we're out the door to work.

We had oak trees around our house when I was young.  They were huge.  On windy autumn days, we would love to run and dodge the leaves flying from the top of those massive trees.  We would collect acorns and draw faces on them, pretending they were little french men wearing the berets.

Interesting thing about oak trees.  In the spring, they sprout leaves.  In summer they provide shade on a hot sunny day.  In autumn, the leaves turn brown and fall to the ground.  The tree lays empty and fallow through the winter.  The tree almost looks dead.  But again in the spring, the entire process starts again.

How do you serve?  Are you like the coffee bean?  Do you serve with a sweetness and effectiveness only to burn out and feel used up without renewing to come back and serve again and again?

Or do you serve more like the oak tree?  Do you serve well during the summer months and take the needed rest when experiencing your season of winter?

Coffee is great.  But once the pot is empty, we can never again enjoy that same pot.  Oak trees are there to provide shade summer after summer.  Don't you want to be the kind of servant who can renew and continue serving season after season?  If so, remember to take time to make the most of your "winter" seasons and get your needed rest.  Then come back stronger than ever.

Oh, and one more thing about oak trees -- they have an incredible root system that keeps them strong through difficult storms.  To serve like one is to have your life deeply rooted in your relationship with God (step #1 to serving strong).

Author's note:  Originally, I had elm trees on this post.  My wife lovingly reminded me that that OAK trees produce acorns.  I've now updated this post.  Just a humble reminder that I'm not perfect (my wife is!!)  Thanks, sweetheart!