Oklahoma City 's sacred symbol

There is a sacred symbol in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma since the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 people. It is a tree, but not just any old tree.

After the bombing, the tree was discovered beneath the rubble, stripped it seemed of life. To everyone’s surprise, she began to bud through damaged bark and soot, and the citizens of Oklahoma City admired it so that most residents describe it with the personal pronoun “her.” She was named “The Survivor Tree.”

Other trees in the area grow much larger and look healthier, but they are not as treasured as she is. The city cherishes her because of her endurance. She has become a symbol of the enduring, resilient spirit of the city as well as a remembrance of the horror of that fateful day.

“Resilience” is defined as “the ability to spring back and recover.” In the Christian context, it is more than just bouncing back and recovering from a loss or set back. It is “the strength of faith to withstand shock without permanent damage.”

Amazingly, Christ-followers are encouraged through the trials they face and emerge on the other side with the evidence of God’s abiding strength. Paul put it well: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:7-9).

Resilience is the stuff of faith, and certainly more than just optimism.

Jim Collins, the author Good to Great, interviewed Admiral Jim Stockdale, the highest-ranking officer in the Hanoi Hilton prisoner of war camp during the Vietnam War. When asked, “Who didn't make it out?” Stockdale replied, “Oh, that's easy - the optimists.” He continued, “They were the ones who said, 'We're going to be out by Christmas.' And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they'd say, 'We're going to be out by Easter.' And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart. This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end, which you can never afford to lose, with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”

Resilience is more than optimism. It is the stuff of faith. It is who we are. We are who we are, and we need not be anyone else. Whatever may come, because of who we are, we bend but never break.

Father, take away all that makes us stiff, resistant, and brittle: pride, self, falsehoods. Put into us that which makes us malleable: humility, trust, truth. Amen.