the support

I was recently driving down a road and was looking at the beautiful landscaping along the way.
I noticed a small tree that had been staked when it was newly planted. the sad thing was that the tree was now a couple of years old and because the stake and wire support had not been removed, it was cutting deeply into the tree.
The very thing that was meant to help support and give strength from winds and weather was now slowly choking and in fact weakening it.
For some reason it really made me sad.
It reminded me of parenting in some ways.
We are meant to help strengthen the tree (child) until is has sufficient roots to stand on its on.
Once the tree has gotten its own roots, the support is no longer needed and should be removed for the tree to reach its full height.
When the stake and wire is left past its time, it can actually keep the tree from getting strength from the roots and can cause it to become weak and be damaged in a strong wind.
Sometimes it is hard to remove the support and allow the tree to face the wind and storms on its own but the greater good comes from doing just that and allowing the tree to reach its full growth potential.
I hope that I have fulfilled my job as a support and by removing the wire, allow my trees to gain their own strength and reach their full growth.