Acorns of Aspiration

Have you ever considered the fact that all the genetic information to grow a giant tree is stored inside a tiny acorn? The blueprint, design and instructions necessary to create the towering oak are hidden within that little nut. They still require nutrients and resources to thrive, but the acorn intrinsically contains all the design and potential to become the oak tree.

However, very few acorns ever reach their potential. Some are eaten by forest creatures. Others never find suitable soil. Still others never receive the proper nutrients to grow and thrive. Some may sprout but then are trampled and die. Many of those sprouts will also not survive the harsh winters.

People are a lot like those acorns. We are all born with incredible potential, but many will never see what they are designed to accomplish or execute what they are capable of doing. Like the acorns, that potential is often devoured. Not by squirrels or forest animals, but by doubt and fear. Some potential is squandered in unsuitable, uninhabitable environments. In other scenarios, that potential is never properly nurtured and cared for – the necessary investments into the future are not made. Sometimes everything seems right and capabilities sprout and begin to shoot up, only to have the budding possibilities trampled by negativity and unbelief from passers-by. And of course, many times those germinating aspirations develop quickly when conditions are favorable, but then wither away during the harsh seasons of life, fraught with difficulties, setbacks and discomfort.

You have an advantage the little potential oak tree does not. The little acorn falls where it may and is helpless against the perils that may keep it from ever realizing what it was designed to be. You do not have to be imprisoned by the conditions in which you landed. That may be where you started, but you don’t have to stay there. You can fertilize and water your aspirations, nurturing them while you strive to create the right environment for them to grow. You can protect the tender shoot from being trampled and in the same way, fend off doubt and fear from consuming it. Now the winters, they are unavoidable. They will come, often unannounced. But when they do, allow the harshness of those seasons to drive your roots even deeper into the soil, strengthening your resolve and determination.

It’s your acorn, make sure it grows.

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