Have you ever heard of a Shepherd’s Tree? More than likely you haven’t, just like I hadn’t. And now I can’t remember where or how I heard of it either, but it was probably some nature show a while back. We like documentaries around here.
Anyway, Shepherd’s Trees are visually unimpressive. If you were driving along in southern Africa, you would probably not give them a second glance. There is nothing unusual about them that would encourage a second glance. (For instance, none have a third eye or a tattoo on their forehead.) They just look like part of the scrub foliage that dots the landscape.
You could drive through the desert a hundred times and dismiss them. They are of average height, and even though they flower, they aren’t super attractive. Though you would see them regularly as you drove around, they wouldn’t catch your eye, except to maybe say “What’s with all these scraggly-looking trees out here?”
However, roads have been known to be built around them in order to preserve them! This might seem strange since they look so unremarkable. But there is more to these trees than meets the eye. Growing in the Kalahari desert, they are called the Tree of Life, as they provide essential foliage and fruit for the animals, and shade during the hottest months of summer. People also use the leaves and bark for medical purposes.
What you also can’t see upon first glance (or until you do some digging) is that these trees have one of the longest root systems ever recorded, reaching 223 feet in depth! Compare that to your average fruit-bearing tree whose majority of roots go only about 2 feet deep, with one main root going five feet deep or so, and suddenly there’s something really impressive about these trees!
What is my point? There are Shepherd’s Trees all around us. In every church there are quiet people who seem unremarkable.
There’s nothing immediately impressive about them. They don’t dress in a way that garners attention, or keep up with the latest trends. They aren’t gregarious, in-your-face kind of people who talk to everyone and have to let the world know they have arrived.
They don’t always pipe up in group settings, and they don’t feel compelled to share everything they know about a subject. In fact, you may have never heard them speak at all.
However, these people have deep roots. They are always around, even though you may have overlooked them because they aren’t flashy. They serve the Lord in faithful obscurity, quietly providing fruit, foliage, and shade to all those who would gather at their trunks.
You need to get to know these people.
Everyone has a story. You would probably be surprised and most likely amazed at the hard things these Shepherd’s Trees among us have walked through with the Lord. So many of them have wisdom, faith, and courage that would seem unlikely at first glance.
Don’t dismiss them because they aren’t flashy. Observe their stillness. Watch how they modestly go about touching the lives they come into contact with in simple, godly sincerity and love. Ask them out for breakfast or coffee and get to know their story.
Take notes.
And see just how much deeper they can encourage your own roots to grow. And just maybe, over time, you can become a Shepherd’s Tree to someone else.
Unimpressive doesn’t mean ineffective.
Proverbs 17:27
He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.
Ephesians 4:1-3
(1) I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
(2) With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
(3) Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Proverbs 22:4
By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.
Of Faith & Fortitude 
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