Roots

Roots

I was pulling the weeds in my flower garden a few days ago...a good cure, by the way for a heavy heart and a weary soul.I was having a little conversation with God about a grieving mom who recently lost her baby...feeling a little weary with loss and death... when I came to the mother of all weeds. It momentarily took my attention from our conversation as I braced myself with both feet and gripped the weed with both hands, grunting and pulling with all my might. The weed and most of the root finally broke free and I fell back onto my backside, into the dirt."Darn, I thought...I didn't get all of the root, "then shrugging, I continued the weed-pulling task, thinking..."Some roots are bigger than others."

I pondered that statement awhile...How true it is...some roots are bigger than others...and deeper and more entangled. There are good roots and bad roots. Roots that hang on tightly and roots that are easily pulled up. There are family roots, roots of faith, roots of bitterness, roots planted in good soil, and roots that entangle with other roots until it's impossible to distinguish which root is good and which is bad. There are roots that bring pain...which can lead to beauty (i.e - rose bushes).

After the weeds were pulled and the bushes trimmed, I decide to look in the Bible to see what God had to say about roots. Jesus loved parables and word pictures, especially those about soil, roots, and seeds...so I knew He would have something to say about roots.

Family Roots

Isaiah 11:10 - mentions the Root of Jesse
Revelation 22:16- "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and Offspring of David, the Bright Morning Star."

Family roots run deep. No one can argue that. Whether you're close to your family or not...whether for good or for harm, your family has had an influence your life. They are part of the person you are today. Our family roots are intertwined with the rest of the roots that make us who we are.

We've all heard the saying, "I'm getting back to my roots...", which can mean any number of things to any given individual. I recently experienced a "getting back to my roots" moment when I took my boys to Cedar Point (one of the best amusement parks in the nation, located in Sandusky, Ohio). When I was growing up, mom would take us to Cedar Point in the summer. Always a kid at heart, she loved it there. And she always said..."it never rains at Cedar Point...just look for the cherry pie in the sky (mom's name for the sky ride)!"

I never liked the big roller coasters, so mom was always trying to bribe me to go on them. One summer when I was in high school, we went to Cedar Point and I happened to be grounded (which was pretty much my state of being throughout most of high school!). Mom said that if I went on the Gemini she would release me from my grounding. And to sweeten the deal, she would pay me $20. She had me at the ungrounding.... So I stood in line to face my doom. I screamed bloody murder all the way through it. And I never went on the Gemini again. To this day, I don't understand the fascination with an experience which includes leaving your stomach one hundred feet above your body while you plummet down a hill...to what feels like certain death... at break neck speed.

When my family visited Cedar Point this summer, there were memories everywhere of my mom (she passed away in October 2006). It was a fun-filled day. Timothy took off with his teenage friend. And my friend Tracy and I hung out in Snoopy-land with her son and my James. (Tim was working.) Well in camp Snoopy, there is a roller coaster called the Woodstock Express. It goes up about 38 ft. and drops at about 25 mph...just my speed! I was looking forward to taking James on the ride (a grown up can't ride unless a kid is with him/her). James, however, had other plans. It seems he's inherited his mother's aversion to the stomach-separated-from-body phenomenon. In the true spirit of my own mother, I did what had to be done...I bribed him with a stuffed Snoopy doll. He held on tight and screamed throughout the two minute journey, and we have a lovely picture commemorating the memory....his face of terror and my head thrown back laughing as my arm drapes around him, holding him secure. Good times! It was worth the Snoopy doll...As my mom always said...in good times and bad, "We're creating a memory..." She gave us deep family roots...roots that keep on growing.


Roots That Cause Harm
Jeremiah 1:10 explains what to do with a harmful root: See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build up and to plant.

Weeds and harmful roots represent the bad stuff, like sin, pain, and regret. Those kinds of "weeds" need to be pulled up completely without any hint of a root left, or else they will return to do more harm to the healthy plants around them. After the weeds are destroyed, it's time to build and plant. Ecclesiastes 3 also talks about "a time to plant and a time to pluck what is planted." We, just like plants, must sometimes endure a spiritual weed-pulling and pruning...and following that comes a time to flourish, grow and bear fruit.

One of the most poisonous of all "bad" roots is the root of bitterness mentioned in Hebrews 12:14 - 15: Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled. This verse also illustrates the bitter root's power to destroy not only us but others around us. Just like some weeds become entangled with the plants around them and choke out the life, health and growth, the root of bitterness chokes out our life, health and growth. (Hint: The best known cure for the dreaded root of bitterness is fought with the antidote of gratefulness. It's always simple...our Shepherd makes it easy for His sheep...just count your blessings!)

Parable of the Soil
Matthew 13 tells the parable of the soils, and the importance of having prepared soil for a healthy root of faith to grow. If the "soil" of our hearts is not properly prepared for the "seeds" of God's Word, the "seed will not "take root" in our hearts and we will not receive it...or we may receive it, but it could be easily stolen (uprooted) when difficult times come our way. Matthew 13:20-21 - But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.

Roots of Faith
...that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love...- Ephesians 3:17
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so also walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. - Colossians 2:6-7

These are the good roots...the ones we want to have a deep, strong, healthy root that can't be pulled up or moved. We want the good roots to grow and flourish, standing firm against the weeds that threaten and the winds that blow. We can't have the strength on our own, but if we are firmly rooted in Jesus, we will not be moved.The more weeds He pulls up, the more our healthy roots can grow in the soil of our hearts and lives.

I thought about all the things in my life that had been mixed into my "soil"...pain, loss, insecurity, forgiveness, redemption, salvation, friendship, sorrow, joy, love, family, gratefulness,brokenness, restoration...And, with my own garden in front of me and the warm sunshine on my back, I smiled at the thought of God - the Master Gardener - gently mixing it all together to create a beautiful, colorful garden of His own...the garden of my life.