03/20/2026
Today, I helped my dad split and stack wood. I think it’s one of his favorite hobbies. He likes to work. He has worked hard all of his life and he instilled a strong work ethic in me at a very early age. When it comes to work, he has told me more than once, “I’m looking for results, not excuses.”
This morning, while splitting wood, and using a log splitter, he placed a large piece of wood that had several knots in it. Even with the log splitter, it was difficult to maneuver. The log wouldn’t split evenly. Several split pieces came out awkwardly. Some split pieces weren’t able to be used.
The next log to be split was perfectly round. It was easy to maneuver at the splitter. It didn’t have any knots. Every piece that was split came out smoothly and was easy to stack. Dad excitedly stated, “That’s how it’s supposed to go.”
I thought about that and replied, “Didn’t God put the knots in the tree?” Dad pointed out, “That’s where the branches were” and a revelation hit us at the same time.
God created the trees with the capacity to expand, grow and provide food and nutrients for animals through the branches. By design, the branches would produce knots in the trees, causing difficultly and irritation for the tree. But without the knots, there would be not branches for growth and providing for others.
Even in nature, God is teaching us that when we endure difficultly and irritation, we are actually growing in ways that can benefit others!
Thank God for the knots!
