The Tree of Flourishing
How do our physical health, relationships, character, purpose, and spiritual lives fit together?
In our last step together, we explored what nutrition has to do with flourishing.
We discovered that nutrition matters.
The way we nourish our bodies can affect our energy, our ability to participate in life, and even how present we are with the people around us.
But we also discovered something else.
Everything is connected.
We are not simply bodies that need to be fed.
We are whole people.
Our physical health matters.
Our relationships matter.
Our character matters.
Our purpose matters.
Our daily choices matter.
And our relationship with God matters.
But how do all these parts fit together?
I’ve found it helpful to picture our lives as something familiar.
Something living.
Something that grows slowly over time.
A tree.
Come with me.
I’d like to show you what I call The Tree of Flourishing.
A Picture of Flourishing
When we look at a beautiful, healthy tree, our eyes are naturally drawn to what we can see.
The strong trunk.
The spreading branches.
The green leaves.
Perhaps even the fruit growing among them.
But much of what allows that tree to flourish is hidden from view.
Beneath the surface is an entire root system reaching into the soil.
Those roots anchor the tree.
They draw in what it needs.
They sustain the life we eventually see above the ground.
And the soil itself matters.
A tree planted in rich, nourishing soil has access to what it needs to grow. A tree planted in poor soil may struggle no matter how much attention we give to its leaves.
I think our lives are much the same.
We often focus most of our attention on what is visible.
Our weight.
Our appearance.
Our accomplishments.
Our careers.
Our finances.
Our habits.
Our relationships.
And when something isn’t going well, we naturally try to fix the part we can see.
But what if some of the things happening above the surface are connected to something deeper?
What if flourishing isn’t simply about producing better fruit?
What if it begins by asking:
What is my life planted in?
The Soil: God
Every tree begins somewhere.
It is planted in soil.
In the Tree of Flourishing, the soil represents God—the ultimate source and sustainer of life.
This is where the Holistic Shalom understanding of flourishing begins.
Not with nutrition.
Not with exercise.
Not with productivity.
Not even with self-improvement.
It begins with God.
The world often tells us that flourishing is something we must manufacture for ourselves.
Work harder.
Become more disciplined.
Build a better body.
Create a better life.
Achieve more.
Control more.
And certainly, our choices matter. We have a responsibility to participate faithfully in the lives we’ve been given.
But ultimately, we are not the source of our own life.
God is.
Everything we have begins with Him.
Our breath.
Our bodies.
Our abilities.
Our opportunities.
Our relationships.
Our purpose.
Even the days we have been given to live.
True flourishing, then, isn’t something we create independently of God.
It grows from a life increasingly planted in Him.
The Roots: Abiding in Christ
The roots of a tree are mostly invisible.
Yet they determine so much of what eventually becomes visible.
In the Tree of Flourishing, the roots represent our life in Christ—our faith, our identity, and the deep inner foundation from which the rest of life grows.
Jesus used a similar picture when He spoke about the vine and the branches.
“Abide in me, and I in you.”
— John 15:4
A branch doesn’t produce life by trying harder.
It bears fruit because it remains connected to the source of life.
I think this is one of the most freeing truths we can discover on the journey toward flourishing.
We don’t have to manufacture flourishing through our own strength.
We are invited to remain.
To abide.
To trust.
To grow deeper roots.
This doesn’t mean we become passive.
Roots are active.
They reach.
They absorb.
They anchor.
They sustain.
In the same way, our spiritual lives deepen through prayer, Scripture, worship, obedience, community, and learning to trust God through the changing seasons of life.
Much of that growth may be invisible to others.
But over time, what happens beneath the surface begins to shape everything above it.
The Trunk: Character
From the roots grows the trunk.
The trunk gives the tree strength.
It supports the branches.
It allows the tree to stand through wind and changing weather.
In the Tree of Flourishing, the trunk represents character.
Who are we becoming?
It’s an important question because flourishing isn’t only about what we accomplish.
It’s also about the kind of person we are becoming along the way.
Are we becoming more patient?
More faithful?
More compassionate?
More courageous?
More generous?
More self-controlled?
More loving?
Character is formed slowly.
Often quietly.
Through thousands of choices that may seem insignificant in the moment.
How we respond when we’re frustrated.
How we treat someone who can do nothing for us.
What we do when no one is watching.
Whether we keep our word.
Whether we choose gratitude or resentment.
Whether we remain faithful when the easier path is available.
Over time, these choices shape us.
And like the trunk of a tree, character provides strength for everything else we carry.
The Branches: The Dimensions of Flourishing
From the trunk extend the branches.
Each branch grows in a different direction, yet all belong to the same tree.
This is how I think about the different dimensions of a flourishing life.
They include areas such as:
Nutrition.
Movement.
Rest.
Relationships.
Purpose.
Stewardship.
Each one matters.
And each one is connected to the others.
This is why Holistic Shalom takes a holistic approach to health and flourishing.
We can’t always isolate one part of life from everything else.
Poor sleep can affect our food choices.
Chronic stress can affect our bodies.
Our physical health can influence our energy.
Our energy can affect our relationships.
Our relationships can influence our emotional well-being.
Our sense of purpose can affect how we approach each day.
And our spiritual lives can shape the way we understand all of it.
The branches are different.
But the life flowing through them comes from the same tree.
This is where nutrition finds its place.
Nutrition is not pushed aside in the Tree of Flourishing.
It is an important branch.
Caring for our bodies through nourishing food is one of the practical ways we faithfully steward the lives we’ve been given.
But nutrition was never meant to carry the entire weight of flourishing by itself.
Neither was exercise.
Neither was career success.
Neither was financial security.
Neither was any single relationship.
Each is part of something larger.
One life.
The Leaves: Our Daily Habits and Rhythms
A tree has countless leaves.
One leaf may seem insignificant.
But together, they form the canopy of the tree.
I think our daily habits are much the same.
The glass of water.
The meal we prepare.
The walk we take.
The time we set aside to rest.
The prayer whispered before the day begins.
The phone call to someone we love.
The decision to forgive.
The choice to turn off the screen and go to sleep.
The few minutes spent reading Scripture.
The act of generosity no one else sees.
Individually, these choices may seem small.
But our lives are largely made up of small things repeated over time.
That’s why I don’t believe flourishing usually begins with changing everything at once.
It begins with learning to tend the life in front of us.
One choice.
One habit.
One day.
One faithful step at a time.
The Fruit: A Life That Blesses Others
Eventually, a healthy tree bears fruit.
But here’s something important about fruit:
A tree doesn’t eat its own fruit.
Its fruit nourishes others.
That is one of my favorite parts of the Tree of Flourishing.
Because true flourishing was never meant to end with us.
We don’t care for our bodies simply so we can admire our health.
We don’t develop our gifts simply so we can celebrate our abilities.
We don’t grow in wisdom simply so we can feel wiser.
We don’t strengthen our relationships simply to create comfortable lives for ourselves.
As we flourish, something begins to overflow.
We become more able to serve.
To give.
To encourage.
To create.
To contribute.
To love.
To be present.
To carry hope into places where hope is needed.
Our flourishing begins to bless the people around us.
Our families.
Our friends.
Our workplaces.
Our churches.
Our communities.
Perhaps this is one of the clearest signs of genuine flourishing:
The life God is growing within us increasingly becomes a gift to others.
The Gardener: God Gives the Growth
There is one final part of the picture that may be the most important of all.
Every garden has a gardener.
And in the Tree of Flourishing, we are not the Gardener.
God is.
This matters because the pursuit of health and personal growth can easily become another burden.
We begin believing everything depends on us.
If I just eat perfectly.
If I exercise enough.
If I become disciplined enough.
If I pray enough.
If I make all the right choices.
Then perhaps I can finally become the person I’m supposed to be.
But that’s an exhausting way to live.
Faithful stewardship matters.
Our choices matter.
Our habits matter.
We participate in the work.
We tend what has been entrusted to us.
But ultimately, God gives the growth.
There will be seasons when growth seems fast.
There will be seasons when nothing appears to be happening.
There will be seasons of pruning.
Seasons of waiting.
Seasons when roots are growing deeper even though nothing new is visible above the ground.
The Gardener sees what we cannot.
He knows what the tree needs.
Our responsibility is not to force the fruit.
Our invitation is to remain rooted, to participate faithfully, and to trust God with the growth.
Planted. Nourished. Tended. Growing. Bearing Fruit.
This is the picture I hope the Tree of Flourishing gives us.
A flourishing life is:
Planted in God.
Rooted in Christ.
Strengthened in character.
Expressed through the interconnected dimensions of life.
Cultivated through daily habits and rhythms.
Bearing fruit that blesses others and glorifies God.
And through it all, tended by the Gardener who faithfully gives the growth.
Perhaps flourishing isn’t something we finally achieve.
Perhaps it’s something we increasingly grow into.
Slowly.
Faithfully.
Season by season.
One faithful step at a time.
🌱 Wisdom for the Journey
Pause and reflect.
When we notice something in our lives that isn’t flourishing, our instinct is often to focus immediately on what we can see.
We try to fix the fruit.
Change the behavior.
Correct the habit.
Solve the problem.
And sometimes that’s exactly where we need to begin.
But sometimes, we may need to look deeper.
Perhaps the question isn’t only:
What’s happening with the fruit?
Perhaps we also need to ask:
What’s happening beneath the surface?
Because healthy fruit is often the visible expression of healthy roots doing their unseen work.
And sometimes the most important growth in our lives is happening where no one else can see it.
🌿 Take One Faithful Step
One small step is enough.
Take a moment to picture the Tree of your own life.
Don’t judge it.
Simply notice it.
Ask yourself:
Where am I flourishing right now?
Which branch of my life may need a little more care?
What daily habit might God be inviting me to tend?
And perhaps most importantly:
How deeply am I allowing my roots to grow into Christ?
You don’t need to fix the whole tree today.
Choose one area.
One small act of stewardship.
One faithful step.
And trust the Gardener with the growth.
🚶 Continue the Journey
The Tree of Flourishing gives us a picture of the whole life.
But a tree doesn’t grow simply because we understand its parts.
It grows because it is planted somewhere.
The condition of the soil matters.
And so does the place where our own lives are rooted.
In our next step together, we’ll go beneath the surface and explore the foundation from which everything else grows.
The Soil: Where Flourishing Begins
We’ll explore why true flourishing begins not with trying harder to improve ourselves, but with discovering the source from which genuine life flows.
