Rooted

Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. Colossians 2:6-7

We had crazy wind here the other day...actually crazy in an understatement! It was wild! There were points in the day when I thought the house would cave in or the windows shatter, we watched,  mesmerized by it's swirl and intensity.

The sound was loud, intrusive, yet comforting and interesting. We snuggled on the couch and watched. We watched the trees sway, bend and whip, threatening to break under such pressure. I reminded the children about the study we had done on trees a year back, about tree roots. I explained how the roots of a tree act as an anchor keeping the trees firmly planted in the ground. We watched in awe as some of the bigger trees in our neighborhood swayed back and forth yet remained steady and strong.

I got lost in a swirl of thoughts. I saw myself being tossed in the winds. Whipped around, damaged, broken and lost. I saw myself at the mercy of an unrelenting wind, powerless to it's strength. Overwhelmed and grasping, everything around me scattered, out of control, unreachable. I saw what I had blowing away, gone before I could reach it. Overwhelmed and defeated.

Then I looked up at the trees again and I saw myself firmly rooted, unshakable, unmoved. Hands held high, eyes looking upward, I stood firm in Christ. My anchor.

I looked over at my children again and explained how we are a lot like the trees when we stand firm in Jesus. No matter where we are in life, we'll get pushed and shoved, threatened and confused but His Word, His love, His tending to our hearts, our prayers and gratitude, worship and glory given to Him nourishes strong roots. Roots that keep us safe and steady even when the fiercest winds blow. That without theses roots we would be left at the mercy of the wind, crashing back and forth.

I looked at our front yard tree and saw where the branch had been broken from our moving truck a year ago and saw that it had new growth. I thought of the many trees that do buckle under the wind or perhaps lose a limb or two. They don't all stand firm.

I pondered this throughout the day.  I thought about roots; did you know the main functions of roots are absorption, anchorage and storage? Also if a tree does not have a healthy root system it has a greater chance of being knocked over in the wind or losing a limb? I saw how easily this could be applied to me. What I set before me, my eyes, ears,  my mouth and heart is "absorbed". What I set before me is what I build my foundation of. I though of the things I set my confidence in and hope in, what do I anchor myself in? Are they strong enough to withstand the inevitable pressures of life? I thought of the things I hold on to - store - do they weaken me or build me strong? Hurts, fears and bitterness destroy and breakdown any person, while scripture, gratitude, forgiveness and healing make way for new, hope and strength. I thought of my children.

Dear ones, could I challenge you? Next time the wind blows, really blows, stand in it and consider your roots. What are they made of? What are you anchored in?  Are your roots strong enough to withstand the wildest of winds?

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17b-19