Roots

I am definitely a 'mental picture' type of person - if you can explain something to me in a way that creates an image in my mind, it's almost guaranteed that I won't forget it.

One of my favorite 'mental pictures' as it relates to my relationship with God comes from Ephesians 3:16-19, which reads,

"I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will give you mighty inner strength through His Holy Spirit.  And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in Him.  May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love really is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it.  Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God."

This passage gives me a powerful picture in my brain.  And that picture stems from a tree, one who's sole source of strength comes from the health of it's roots.  If a tree's roots do not go deep enough or are not embedded in healthy soil, that tree will topple when the strong winds blow.  But when a tree has a strong and well-nourished root system, one that goes deep into fertile soil, it can withstand anything.  In my mind, I can see how this passage predicts 'mighty inner strength,' 'trust,' 'fullness of life,' and 'power' as a result of being deeply rooted in 'the soil of God's marvelous love.'

Roots create a strong, lasting image for me.

So, when I read a verse yesterday, one that again mentions 'roots,' I realized that I had been reading several verses lately about the same topic and I went back to look at each one again.  Here's what I found:

Psalms 80:9  "You cleared the ground for us, and we took root and filled the land."

Jeremiah 17:7-8  (and this passage just HAPPENED to be the 'verse of the day' on www.biblegateway.com when I went to look up these verses...)  

"But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.  They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water.  Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought.  Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing delicious fruit."

Jeremiah 32:41  "I will rejoice in doing good to them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land."

Jeremiah 42:10  "Stay here in this land.  If you do, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you."

And even now, as I look at these verses collectively, I am brought to tears.

My husband and I have been silently but surely fighting this process of starting a new life here.  We have done everything we needed to do to get our family settled in school, in church, and in the neighborhood, and we have done our best to try and make our new house a home for the six of us, but inwardly, we have been fighting it.  Both of us are realizing that we have been putting off decisions and keeping our distance from certain situations because we don't REALLY want to give in and make our home here in South Dakota.  Why?  Because, for us, our ROOTS are in Nebraska.

Yet everything God is saying over the past few weeks is challenging us to our very core.  Are we TRULY ready to go where He's leading?  Do we REALLY trust that He has only the best plans for us?  Will we give up EVERYTHING to find out?

I don't know if God can be any more obvious...the way has been cleared (Psalms 80:9), if our ROOTS are in Him, we can thrive in any circumstance (Jer 17:7-8), He is ready to do great things, and will be faithful to transplant us (Jer 32:41), and if we STAY PUT, He will build us up (Jer 42:10).

While I LOVE that God is faithful to remind me of the truth I have held onto and that He loves me enough to repeat His message to me as many times as it takes, I still feel like a toddler throwing a tantrum because I JUST DON'T WANT TO LET GO.

Lord, help me.  I WANT to follow You, I WANT to be in Your best plans, I WANT to see You continue to do great things.  It's just breaking my heart to let go of my connection to the amazing work You have already done...while I was in Nebraska.

But if my roots are where they should be - deep in Your love - then I should be able to trust that I can find strength and fullness of life wherever You lead.  ...Even if it means putting down new roots...