Potential is a Lot Like a Box of Acorns

Just like a oak tree has the potential to send out acorns that could grow into hundreds of thousands of new seedlings, we never know how much of a difference helping one individual might bring to this world and we might be exactly the right person in the right situation to nurture that individual into the sunlight.

I was assigned to be parking lot monitor today at my church’s annual summer barbecue. The job didn’t require a lot more than just wandering around the parking lot, keeping a presence so no would be car break-ins would take place. I was certainly grateful for the shade that some large oak trees provided throughout the parking lot. And after making a couple of rounds of the parking lot, I made a discovery.

The ground surrounding the oak trees was littered with acorns of various shapes and sizes. Some were green which means they were probably blown down fairly recently in the last major wind event while others where rich earthy brown tones. I also started to notice that where the acorn landed when they fell determined to large extent whether or not an acorn would still be intact and potentially able to be planted.

The acorns I found in the soil were by and large either opened and gnawed on by animals or already starting to decompose in the rich and wet soil that Western Oregon is famous for. And most of the acorns that fell on the parking lot stalls or major driving areas were smashed by cars rolling over them. But I did find a lot in the gutters and near trash cans and rather than let them get smashed too I collected several dozen to take home to plant.

While driving home from the barbecue I couldn’t help but think about how similar people can be to those acorns. I’m sad to admit that so often I disregard the people that I walk past on the street or drive past on the road. And maybe that’s a saving grace. We only have so much attention available to us and if all of it is caught up in getting to know or showing care to millions of complete strangers, we wouldn’t have any left over to focus on the people we do know and love already.

But here’s the thing, I might not be the right person to nurture and “plant” everybody I meet—in this analogy planting means to mentor and nurture and care about not the other cultural definitions the word can imply. Most people wouldn’t even accept help from total strangers even when offered. But we all collectively could care for and nurture some of the people we meet and interact with. And if we all did that, all of the acorns would be taken care of. None would be smashed under tires or forgotten under trash cans or rot away.

What a different would we would be living in if we all paid just a bit more attention to the people in the fringes of our lives and cultivated those relationships a bit more so that none of them were lost. Just like a oak tree has the potential to send out acorns that could grow into hundreds of thousands of new seedlings, we never know how much of a difference helping one individual might bring to this world and we might be exactly the right person in the right situation to nurture that individual into the sunlight.