saltandlight

A few weeks ago I attempted to dig up a couple of rose bushes in front of my house. We have been re doing our porch and steps and the bushes were in the way. I gave them to my Mom to replant in her yard.

These bushes are about 10 years old I believe. They have survived a lot and part of me hated to get rid of them for one main reason. I do not have a green thumb. Most everything I try to grow, plant wise, dies. But these knock out roses made me look like a real gardener.

They have survived hurricanes, droughts, snow, hailstorms and someone like me taking care of them meaning they didn’t get much care at all. Looking at them from the outside they are beautiful and seem kind of delicate even. So I got me a shovel and started trying to dig.

Well the job was much harder than I thought it would be. I knew it wouldn’t be easy but man! The roots on these bushes were deep and strong! I actually broke my husband’s shovel. LOL I was digging and getting under need the bush some and so I pushed down on the shovel and POP! Shovel broke.

I had to go and get another shovel and try a different approach. Those roots were tough! I worked and worked for a couple of hours to get them dug up. I had to actually cut some of the roots. They roots were so deep some of them were growing up under my house even.

So I started thinking about that and a little while later I felt the Lord impressing on me about how those roots relate to our life as a Christian.

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Rooted and grounded in love.

To be rooted and grounded in love is to have a deep and stable relationship with Christ. That takes daily walking and talking with Him.

Where do roots grow? In the hidden places underground. No one sees the roots grow.

A stable foundation in Christ grows from our own personal time with Him. Reading His Word and praying to Him. We can’t expect deep and strong roots if we only spend time with Him on Sundays.

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” Colossians 2:6-7

Life is hard. There are going to be storms. Sometimes we don’t know if we will be able to weather those storms. But if our roots are strong and deep, we will come through the storms stronger than before.

As I was preparing this, I began reflecting on one of the hardest storms that I’ve had to walk through.

A few years ago I got a phone call that changed my life. Not to be over dramatic but it really did. My daughter Lily was in her first year of college. It was a Friday afternoon and she had a doctor’s appointment and after that she was heading home.

While she was sitting at our doctor’s office. The Dr called me to let me know that my daughter had attempted to take her own life.

As a mother, I was heart broken as you can imagine. For a couple weeks I was pretty lost.

If you have never been through this, there is a fear that they are going to attempt again and that they are not okay.

A couple of weeks after her attempt I was praying one day and I felt like the Lord said to me “She’s going to be okay”. Right then I felt such peace about everything.

It was then that I understood the verse that says “The peace that passes all understanding”.

I knew that she was really going to be okay.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

I truly feel that my relationship with Christ, my roots, are what helped me through that time.

See you don’t grow your roots during the storm. You discover how deep they are during the storm.

I honestly do not know how anyone makes it through times like this without the Lord.

I won’t lie and say that everything was rainbows and sunshine after that. I had my moments of anxiety – a lot of them.

But when I let those moments get the best of me, I would remember what the Lord told me. “She’s going to be okay” – I held on to that promise for dear life!

And she was. She has had a bumpy road but she graduated this past May with her bachelor’s degree in psychology. She is doing well now.

God is so good.

But here is something that I want you to understand.

What if God had answered differently?

What if Lily had not survived that night?

God would still be good.

His goodness does not depend on our circumstances.

God is sovereign. He has unlimited power and authority. And He truly knows what is best for each and every one of us.

Because believe me I know that He very well could have taken my daughter home to be with Him. He has taken other people’s children home to be with Him. I don’t want anyone to think that I got to keep my child here because of my faith.

It is truly God’s will for her to be here.

Our family learned so much through all of this. And that’s how it is with any challenge in life.

Trials can change us. We can allow our pain to draw us closer to Christ and deepen our roots, or over time we can allow hurt and bitterness to take root instead. And choosing Christ in those moments isn’t a one-time decision.

Sometimes it’s a choice we have to make again every single day.

I remember a long time ago, probably close to 20 years ago a terrible wreck happened near Glenville. A local business owner, and her 4 grandchildren were all in a wreck that killed herself and 2 of the children. The children’s mother was at the hospital when she received the news that the other 2 children were going to live. Her response was “God is so good!” I asked the Lord to give me that Spirit. Here she has lost two children, but she is thanking the Lord for the 2 children that He spared.

Just like the rose bushes, that Mama had some deep and strong roots.

And just like the rose bushes, we will all face storms, drought and we might feel like life is beating up on us like a hail storm.

So my questions for you:

“What are you rooted in”? and “How strong are those roots?”

Blessings,

~ Cheryl