When I first began to dabble in gardening, I struggled with getting my growing plants to remain stationary. It didn’t take long for me to realize the issue. I wasn’t using enough soil when I repotted them. So I was plagued with the issue of tilting plants until I figured that one out. But I learned the necessity of making sure my plants were firmly planted. Similar to a building’s foundation, the support is essential to helping a plant remain stationary. Grounded. Deeply rooted.
I’m a nature lover and rain happens to be one of my favorite things about it. I’m always fascinated when a weather system rolls through that brings tons of rain and wind. During those storms, you can see the trees bowing and swaying back and forth, doing their best to return to their natural position. You can see that they are trying so hard to withstand the storm. An impossible feat for any plant, flower, or tree outdoors unless they are firmly planted and deeply rooted.
That’s a type of security that translates to my spiritual well-being. If I want to withstand the storm, then I can’t settle for a surface type of faith. I’ll be too easily uprooted, shaken, and thrown with the wind. I need my roots to be so deeply entrenched in God that an uprooting is impossible. The adversary can throw all sorts of storms and wrenches, he can tug and pull, stomp and whatever else but if I’m deeply rooted, then I’ll be immovable. In order to do that, I have to check up on my roots every day.
That’s my faith walk. It’s not one and done, but daily work. One simple way to check up on your roots is to be in communication with the one that made you. Prayer asking God for guidance in your life is always a positive step in the right direction. It’s no different than when you communicate with your friends and loved ones. Those relationships are strong because you put the time in to build them. I can do the same thing when I’m meditating on God and spending that time in his presence. My relationship with him is strengthening and so are my roots. I’m understanding his will more and embracing that instead of focusing on my own.
The deterioration begins with neglect. My god-sister once spoke to me about feeling disconnected from God. After she listed her complaints about how it seemed that she just didn’t hear from him anymore she admitted that maybe she wasn’t spending as much time praying and talking with God as she once did. And there is another way for us to check up on our roots. Are we spending time with him? Are we praying the way we used to? Do we think about God the same way as when we first believed? Think about that.
If, like a plant, I want to be deeply rooted and firmly planted in God, then I know that a surface planting isn’t enough. It’s not enough that I prayed that one time several years ago or that I read that passage of scripture one day a few years back. That’s not going to cut it. That was then. What we are doing in the here is now is just as important. Let’s make sure it’s not neglecting God.
In perilous times, we should pray more. Things happen every day that are disheartening and make you wonder what is happening on this earth. That’s why our faith and our spiritual living are all the more important. Again, it’s essential to helping us remain grounded during a season of great turmoil. So don’t ever stop praying and spending time with God. Spend a little time each day making sure your roots are even deeper than they were the day before.
Stay Sunny!
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