The Mangrove Tree: Fearfully & Wonderfully Made

Earlier this year, Carly and I attended a marriage cruise, during which we were able to experience new things and see beautiful parts of the world. While there were many things we learned through the cruise, the most impactful part for me didn’t happen on the boat. It happened on a shore excursion.

Carly and I had decided that kayaking along the coastal waters of the Florida Keys was the perfect balance of adventurous and relaxing. We were excited to see the amazing beaches and wildlife that lived there. In the midst of the beautiful scenery, the most outstanding part of the excursion wasn’t a sea hare, a sea star, an iguana, or even the people doing yoga on paddleboards; it was a tree. Perhaps this is my inner nerd speaking, but learning about the qualities of the Mangrove tree was so inspiring that here I am, months later, writing a blog post about it.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Mangrove tree, bear with me while I give you a brief lesson.

Mangrove trees grow at the edge of the keys with their roots submerged in salt water, but require fresh water to survive. The trees have a protective layer on their roots that prevent most of the salt from entering the tree, but some still does enter the tree. This small amount of salt would still kill the tree, so the tree has been designed so that it picks a leaf on the tree, deposits the remaining salt in that leaf, killing that leaf, but allowing the tree to thrive. This sacrificial leaf process continues through the life of tree.

This reminds me of how wonderfully complex Gods creation is. The human body being one of those complex things that we just don’t fully understand yet. A persons skin does many things for the body, it protects it from infection, regulates body temperature, provides sensation, prevents water loss, etc.  Doctors worked to replace my burnt skin, using my graphed skin, cadaver skin, even my skin was cultured and grown in a lab, but none of it functions as well as my skin did originally. It is thin and fragile, scarred, doesn’t sweat or produce oil, and doesn’t stretch like the skin that God gave me to start with. We are wonderfully made and can’t be replicated by man.

I praise God because of his power, creativity, and might. We truly are fearfully and wonderfully made, and as simple as a tree can seem, it reminded me of this incredible truth.