You've probably seen those little Japanese trees that are amazing miniatures of naturally growing trees. They're fascinating!

Well, today, for some odd reason, I started thinking about what it would be like to BE a bonsai tree. I'd look exactly like a normal tree, except smaller. As a matter of fact, I'd probably look better than a normal tree! Every branch would have been given just the right twist, and every leaf clipped just so. People would see me and know that I was different!

I'd be wrapped up in hard, unyielding wire. That's how I'm forced to maintain my pleasant appearance. It's not the way that I'd look if I were left to grow naturally, freely; it's an external force that takes away my choice,. . . but it's okay -- bonsai are supposed by different. And you get used to the constriction after awhile; it's not as bad as it looks.

I'd also never grow to my fullest potential. Any time I'd start to push out a fresh new limb, it would be clipped. I'd have just the 'right' number of branches, just the 'right' shape to my foliage. But I'd never know the great heights of a natural tree.

But people would know that I was different, even if they couldn't sit in my shade!

I'd also have to be watered every day. Naturally growing trees can go for days without water, or so it seems; their roots actually reach deep into the earth tapping an almost limitless supply of water. But not me. My roots are kept shallow and short. I'm not allowed to go deep. And I dry out really fast if the gardener doesn't water me every day.

Oh yeah, the gardener. That's the guy who wraps me with wire, clips my leaves and limbs, and keeps me in a pot. He loves me, and cares for me with such dedication, and I don't know what I'd do without him! I'm amazed at his knowledge of trees and growing things! His vision has made me to look just like a real tree! (I know that I already am a real tree, but he has really helped me to reach my true potential as a tree!)

I'd also live in a pot. Bonsai means "tree in a pot." It's what defines me. It has its downside - sometimes I do wish that I were growing free in a forest of naturally growing trees - but the upside is really worth it. At least, the gardener thinks so, and he's in charge, right? Sure, I find it hard to connect with other trees (we all have separate pots so our roots are never allowed to intermingle, and our branches never really touch),but I am so PROUD to be bonsai!

Oh, and one other thing, I'd be a really poor fruit bearer. Most bonsai are kept so small that no matter how old they get, they never really bear fruit like mature, natural trees do. Others have their fruit clipped as soon as its produced. Who wants to have a large piece of fruit hanging from such a tiny tree anyway? It would be too much for it -- Thank God that, again, the gardener often keeps us from bearing so much fruit that it would hurt us.


Anyway, I was just thinking about being a bonsai tree. I really don't think I'd like it. I think I'll just keep the freedom, and wildness, that the Creator has given me. Sure, I might not look as pretty, but my roots go deep, and I can bear fruit all the time.

And I'm here outside with the other wild trees, reaching up toward the Son!