The seed falls into the ground, dying as the sprout rises. The sprout grows strong, making due with where it is. A towering tree has taken the place of the once small sprout. A bud forms, the result of the tree splitting and breaking open. The bud lets go, as a beautiful flower reveals itself. The flower dies, making way for the juicy fruit. The fruit falls, rots, and breaks open. The seed fall into the ground, dying as the sprout rises.

The story above is a paraphrase of a paragraph I read in Passion & Purity. The author's purpose for describing this regular occurrence is to help us recognize that without letting go, their cannot be life. This process of "receiving and relinquishing, gaining and losing, living and dying" is key to any Christians life. We must let go of our talents, our desires, our love, our blessings, indeed all of ourselves, and let God grow us. In every step of its growth, that tree takes a risk. It doesn't know if the seed will produce a sprout; it doesn't know if the sprout will grow into a strong tree; it doesn't know if a bud will form and produce a flower; it doesn't know if it will be able to produce fruit; it doesn't know if the fruit will fall and release it's seeds; it doesn't know anything. And yet, it continues this routine, year after year after year after year. It is trusting God. It is constantly worshiping God, by it's growth, death, and rebirth.